It was a tale of two halves, but with a predictable ending for Australia as it blew past Bangladesh in a 10-wicket win at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Thursday, thereby becoming the first side to seal a semifinal spot in the Women’s ODI World Cup.

Errant lines, generous extras, and an uncharacteristically sloppy fielding helped Bangladesh huff and puff its way to 198/9, with Phoebe Litchfield and Alyssa Healy featuring in the gaffes reel. But the pair compensated in the best way possible, nullifying a usually wily Bangladeshi bowling unit – sans Marufa Akter and Nahida Akter – with expert precision.

After a slow start, Litchfield picked two boundaries off Fariha Trisna to set the course for the rest of the innings. Healy soon joined the party and the two helped Australia put up 78 runs by the end of the PowerPlay and enter triple figures in 13.5 overs – its quickest this campaign.

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The end was quick for Bangladesh, thanks to exhibition hitting from the duo – Healy registering her second consecutive ton this tournament while Litchfield ticked off her eighth ODI half century along the way.

Earlier, Bangladesh opted to bat, placing faith once again in its ability to mount a stubborn defence.

Litchfield gave Rubya Haider an early reprieve, while Healy’s spill denied Darcie Brown an early celebration. Despite Fargana Hoque falling in the ninth over, Bangladesh’s calculated approach helped it see off the PowerPlay with the scoreboard reading 37/1– its best showing in the tournament.

Rubya chose to live life on the edge, and luck favoured her, with the edges running away to the fence. She fell short of a deserved fifty, holing out to Tahlia McGrath at mid-on. Sharmin soon followed suit similarly.

Alana King, managing close to 4.5 degrees of turn, claimed the prized scalps of Nigar Sultana Joty and Shorna Akter, the latter failing to replicate her pyrotechnics from the previous game.

Sobhana Mostary waged a lone battle with a fighting half-century to drag Bangladesh to a workable score, but it was always going to be a cakewalk for the dominant Aussies, who sealed the win with 25.1 overs to spare.

Published on Oct 16, 2025