The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled 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 abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
