Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended 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 almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”