The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn 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 place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
