Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 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 chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
