The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 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,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
