The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, 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.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
