Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
