The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
