The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners 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 (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
