The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest 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 knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
