Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down 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 recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to 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 England and South Africa.”
