Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
