The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
