The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’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 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
