Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India 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 Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
