Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“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.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
