Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
