Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
