Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, 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 Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
