Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
