The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
