🔗 Share this article

Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.

Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.

From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.

This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.

Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot

Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as King Leads

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking 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 target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”