The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”