The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating 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 impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display 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 reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
