The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular 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 luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
