The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
