Australia captain Alyssa Healy said chasing 331 in 50 overs against India was new territory for her team, adding that stitching crucial partnerships despite cramp worries helped them seal victory in the Women’s World Cup.
Healy slammed a magnificent 142 off 107 balls, hitting 21 fours and three sixes, and shared crucial partnerships with Phoebe Litchfield (40), Ellyse Perry (47 not out), and Ashleigh Gardner (45) as they reached 331/7 in 49 overs to win the match by three wickets with six balls to spare.
“Great result. We’ll take those two points. To chase down 330 in 50-over game is new territory for us. Hopefully don’t have to do it again. Our top order felt like we needed to contribute more. Knowing that we needed to chase big, getting a quick start was crucial. That we were able to maintain the run-rate was cool,” said Healy in the post-match presentation on Sunday.
Australia were in huge trouble as Smriti Mandhana (80) and Pratika Rawal (75) shared a 155-run partnership for India to build a platform from which the hosts could have soared to even 400. But from 192/1, India lost their way and lost nine wickets for 138 runs, including the last six for 36 and were all out for 330, falling short of the target projected at one time.
Australia’s experienced pacer, Annabel Sutherland, played a leading role in scripting the turnaround, claiming five wickets for 40 runs, the best bowling figures for both teams.
“She’s probably the pick of our bowlers from length perspective. She identified the lengths to bowl and executed perfectly. There was some junk bowling. We were able to hang in there,” she added.
The wicketkeeper batter said partnerships were key for her team and they managed to stitch some together on Sunday after failing to do so in their first two matches.
“Partnerships are key, we lacked that in the first couple of games. We were able to have a significant one and to have Perry walking in at 30 not out is cheeky. Ultimately got the job done, that’s crucial,” said Healy.
The Australian skipper, who kept wickets for 50 overs of the Indian innings and then batted for nearly 39 overs, said cramps were a worry for her players. Elysse Perry had to go out for some time because of hamstring cramps, but she came back and secured victory.
“There are cramp worms going around our group, but we have a couple of days to rest and recover,” she added.
