Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
