Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
