The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
