The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner 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 subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
