Healy Blasts Another Century to Power Australia into World Cup Final Four

Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.

Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time data was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.

It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place

The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Leads

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.

Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”