The Australian skipper has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest display 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 were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’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 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
