The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory 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 victories and a abandoned match, guarantees 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 hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
