Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
