Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six 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 got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
