Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
