The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
