The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented 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 little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
