The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“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.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI 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 ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
