The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 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 two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
