The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe 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.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced 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 accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“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 won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
