The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side 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 fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
