Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
