Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament 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 achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia 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 leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
