Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, 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 position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four 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. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
