The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display 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 reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled 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 Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 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 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
