The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
