The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team 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 ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers 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 top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
