Did Australia Captain Alyssa Healy Reveal Tactics Against India?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Alyssa Healy's
- The match highlighted the importance of adapting strategies based on opposition strengths.
- Australia’s successful chase set a new record in women’s ODI history.
- Annabel Sutherland's performance was pivotal in restricting India’s score.
- The team’s captaincy provided crucial leadership at a critical moment.
Vizag, Oct 13 (NationPress) Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy disclosed that there wasn't a strict strategy against the Indian bowlers during the ICC Women’s World Cup match on Sunday. With the home team depending on a five-bowler lineup and left-arm spinner Charani emerging as the standout bowler for India, Healy's team decided to focus on exploiting the pace bowlers.
After Annabel Sutherland took 5 wickets for 40 runs, helping the seven-time champions recover from a position where the hosts were at 155 without loss due to the explosive performances by Pratika Rawal (75) and Smriti Mandhana (80), they managed to restrict India to 330 runs in 49 overs.
In pursuit of 331, Healy delivered a tournament-high score of 142 off just 107 balls, including 21 fours and three sixes, propelling Australia to achieve their target of 331 – marking the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history.
This record-breaking triumph sees the seven-time champions reclaim their position at the top of the group stage table, with Healy expressing satisfaction in stepping up as captain when her team required it the most.
In the post-match press conference, Healy shared, "There wasn’t a formal plan, but I noticed that Charani was generating significant spin as the left-arm spinner. She was undoubtedly the pick of the bowlers today, and we realized that capitalizing on the pace bowlers would be beneficial, especially since they had only five bowlers available in their attack.
"With Harman not bowling any overs, we thought it would be advantageous to target that area. However, it wasn’t a strategic plan; it just unfolded that way during the match, and with the pitch playing well, it allowed us to execute it," she explained.
Healy’s score of 142 is now the third-highest by any captain in any edition of the Women’s World Cup. The only captains with higher scores are fellow Australians Belinda Clark (229* against Denmark in 1997) and Meg Lanning (152* against Sri Lanka in 2017).
Reflecting on her century, which marks her sixth and first as a captain, Healy stated, "I aimed to make a contribution. It was essential for someone to score a hundred to successfully chase down that total. Ideally, having two players scoring centuries would ease the pressure, but it was vital for someone to settle in and have a great performance.
"Ultimately, it was my day. It hasn’t been my day recently, but today was different, which was fantastic. I wish I could have stayed longer at the crease to see us through, but getting us into a winning position felt great, and I’ll cherish that moment later on," she concluded.