The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain'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 glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
