The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India 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 chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
