The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
