Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
