Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled 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.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
