The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, 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 clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 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 against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
