Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side 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 really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”