The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two 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 fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
