The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side 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 great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs 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 King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
