The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs 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 team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
