The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after 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 six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great 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 the English team and the Proteas.”
