Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
