Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries 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 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
