Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], October 13 : Following her match-winning century against Australia in the ICC Women's World Cup group stage clash, Australian skipper Alyssa Healy spoke on feeling "no rhythm whatsoever" in her batting and her battles with young pacer Kranti Gaud, whom she tackled brilliantly during her swashbuckling century.
Healy led from the front, as her 107-ball 142 helped Aussies knock down a challenging 331 set by India, thus securing the best-ever run-chase by a team in women's ODI history.
Before this match, Alyssa had struggled against Gaud, being dismissed by her thrice in three face-offs before she could convert her starts into something substantial, with the bowler not letting her go beyond 30 during the series against Australia before the tournament.
Ahead of this marquee clash, Healy had been having a poor run, managing just 219 runs in eight innings at an average of just over 27, with a solitary half-century and scores of 27, 9 and 30 against India in the bilateral series before the World Cup.
Speaking on finding her rhythm, Healy said during the post-match presser, "If you have been watching me in the nets, it is been a frustrating experience because I feel like I've had no rhythm whatsoever, been struggling to find it, and I did not really know where it went before I came into the World Cup. But I think once you step out on the field, your competitive instincts kick in and you kind of just lock into getting in the contest."
"Obviously aware that Kranti had got me out a fair bit throughout the ODI series, so an opportunity to go out there and lock in a contest with her and just sort of, I do not know, have a bit of fun in that regard, I think sort of got me going and that was really a really enjoyable experience. And like I said, it was my day today, and hopefully it continues but if not, I am sure it will be someone else's, which is cool," she added.
It was indeed Healy's day as she scored 34 off 22 against Kranti, smashing her for five fours and a six. She took just eight singles against the pacer. She was dismissed by spinner Shree Charani this time around.
Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and opted to bowl first. Openers Pratika Rawal (75 in 96 balls, with 10 fours and a six) and Mandhana (80 in 66 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) laid down the platform with an incredible 155-run stand for the opening wicket. However, India could not capitalise on it a lot as a five-wicket haul from Annabel Sutherland (5/40) and Sophie Molineux (3/75) managed to take regular wickets later on.
After exploits from Mandhana-Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper (22 in 17 balls, with three fours), Jemimah Rodrigues (33 in 21 balls, with five fours), and Richa Ghosh (32 in 22 balls, with three fours and two sixes) walked the talk with an attacking approach, but could not convert their starts to milestones as Sutherland and Molineux took India from 234/2 in 36.2 overs to 330 all out in 48.5 overs.
During the run-chase, Healy started off proceedings with an 85-run stand to lay down the partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (40 in 39 balls, with six fours and a six). After Shree Charani (3/41) removed Litchfield, Perry came at number three but retired hurt with the score at 154/1. India made a brief inroad in the match, as Deepti Sharma removed Beth Mooney (4) and Charani got Annabel Sutherland (0).
However, Healy got able support from Ashleigh Gardner (45 in 46 balls, with three fours and a six), taking the Aussies past the 260-run mark. When Charani got Healy at a score of 265, it injected new life into the Indian team, who reduced the Aussies to 303/7 in 45.1 overs. The experienced Perry (47* in 52 balls, with five fours and a six) returned to bat and finished the match with Kim Garth (14* in 13 balls, with two fours). Perry sealed the game with a six, with an over left. Healy got the 'Player of the Match' award for her masterclass knock.