The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover 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, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, 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 another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic 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 anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
