The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
