The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper 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 needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 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 more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked 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.”
