Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances 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 succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
