The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 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 Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings 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 hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
