Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off 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 target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts 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 last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“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. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
