Healy Blasts a Second Hundred to Power Australia into World Cup Final Four
Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”