The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated 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 experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
