The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time 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 score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate 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 failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”