It was one of those chases that usually fray Australian nerves, never mind the opponents’. India’s 299 looked solid enough in front of a loud home crowd, yet Alyssa Healy’s 142 from 107 balls turned it into a four-wicket win with an over unused. Sixth ODI hundred, first since April 2022, and a strong reminder that class does not rust.
“That’s a really cool stat,” Healy smiled afterwards, adding that it should give the batting group “a heap of confidence” for the rest of the World Cup.
Key facts first. Australia now sit two from two; Healy’s ton arrived in 84 balls; Ellyse Perry added a brisk 63; the required rate never ballooned past 7.5 an over. India’s N Shree Charani (4.10) and Deepti Sharma (5.20) were tidy, but Amanjot Kaur and Kranti Gaud leaked 144 in 16 overs between them. That imbalance proved decisive.
Digging a little deeper, Healy had come into this match on 19 and 20. She admitted rhythm had deserted her. “If you’ve been watching me in the nets, it’s been a frustrating experience because I feel like I’ve had no rhythm whatsoever,” she said. “Been struggling to find it, and I didn’t really know where it went before I came into the World Cup.”
That candour matched the innings itself: scratchy early on, fluent once the harder ball skidded on. She targeted pace more than spin, explaining: “It wasn’t a distinct plan as such. Charani was getting actually quite a bit of spin; she was kind of the pick of the bowlers today. We identified that really well and thought if we can capitalise on some of the pace bowlers, that would be handy knowing that they really have [only] five bowlers in their attack.”
Perry’s role deserves mention. While Healy attacked Amanjot’s short stuff, Perry kept the scoreboard ticking off Sharma and Rana, making sure one end was secure before launching. When Healy finally holed out with 41 still needed, Ash Gardner and Annabel Sutherland closed the game without fuss.
Healy accepted she would have preferred to finish it herself. “I think it needed somebody to make a hundred to chase down that total… somebody needed to, if they got set, to cash in and have a good day. So, yeah, it was probably… it was my day in the end. It hasn’t been my day of late, but it was my day today, which was really cool.
“And to get ourselves, obviously I would have liked to be there a little bit longer and probably see it home a little bit more, but I think to get ourselves in a winning position at that point in time was really cool, and I’ll probably reflect on that a little bit later and be a little bit happy.”
Perry, understated as usual, called the chase “clinical in patches”. Coach Shelley Nitschke went further, stressing the importance of Healy’s strike-rotation. “When she’s switching between touch and power like that, the field has nowhere to hide.”
India will rue a missed stumping on 24 and two misfields that bled ten extra runs, yet captain Harmanpreet Kaur resisted any talk of panic. “Tournament cricket is long. We stay calm,” she said.
Still, the numbers are stark. India have now conceded three 300-plus totals in their last five ODIs against Australia. Bowling coach Troy Cooley hinted at tactical tweaks but defended his attack’s intent. “The margin for error is thin; Healy punished anything.”
One subplot concerned Kranti Gaud, who had dismissed Healy three times in their recent bilateral series. Here, the Australian opener drove her second ball through cover, then lifted two more over mid-wicket. “We thought if we could capitalise on [India’s] pace bowlers, that would be quite handy, knowing they’ve only got five bowlers,” Healy said of that switch from caution to aggression.
What next? Australia face South Africa on Thursday, a side that roughed them up in a warm-up last week. India meet Pakistan, a fixture that rarely needs selling.
As for Healy, the rhythm question lingers, yet she sounded ready to let it go. “Once you step out on the field, yo—,” she began, then laughed as the press room lights flickered. The sentence never quite finished, which felt fitting. The hundred, not the words, had already made the point.
