Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
