The Australian skipper has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“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.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team 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 crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away 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 Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side 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,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
