Hobart, Mar 1
Signing off her ODI career in style, Australia captain Alyssa Healy said finishing the format with a dominant win and a memorable innings was a proud and special moment. Healy smashed 158 off 98 balls in her final ODI appearance as Australia beat India by 185 runs in the third ODI of the multi-format series played at the Bellerive Oval on Sunday.
Chasing a massive target of 410, India were bowled out for 224 in 45.1 overs as Australia completed a 3-0 sweep of the ODI series and took an 8-2 lead in the multi-format contest. "Just to finish the ODI leg the way we did makes me really proud. And looking forward to heading to the WACA now and getting stuck into the pink ball," she said after the match.
Calling it a fairytale ending, Healy admitted that milestone matches have often been difficult for her emotionally. "I just think what a ridiculous sport we play that it can kick you down to so many times and then give you opportunities like it has today. I've hated every milestone match, so today was just an opportunity to go out and enjoy it. And it was one of the more enjoyable experiences I've had. So thanks for the cricket gods for that. And yeah, that's a nice way to sign off in the yellow," Healy added.
Alyssa Healy and Georgia Voll built a strong partnership of 104 runs for the second wicket. While Beth Mooney hit a brilliant century and stood tall at one end to take the team to a big total. Healy praised both players for their knocks.
"When you're standing at the other end and Georgia Voll's going really well ... took me a while to still feel like I was getting going. Beth Mooney has been outstanding, another hundred in the middle-order for our team."
Looking ahead, Healy expressed confidence in the team's future. "The future is bright for our team. I'm looking forward to watching them go about their business over the next couple of years, leading into that next one-day World Cup. I think they're going to do some fantastic things yet again," she said.
Australia's top wicketkeeper also revealed that one of the most emotional moments for her came when she handed the debut cap to Lucy Hamilton before the match. "I was honestly fine this morning, and then when I was writing it all down and realising probably what it means to debut and get that cap made me realise how special and how lucky I've been over the last 15 years to have done it as many times as I've had," the 35-year-old said.
"That was a really special experience. She's got a really bright future ahead. I would have loved her to take a wicket tonight, but to get a yellow cap, hopefully another 15 years in it, it was really special," she added.
While her ODI chapter has come to an end, Healy is now looking forward to the Test match at the WACA. "To put ourselves in a position where we don't have to win is obviously a great sign for the series, but we're going there to win. Pink ball at the WACA, we've never experienced that before," she said.
"Any time this group gets to wear the baggy green is extra special. So I'm looking forward to doing that," she concluded. Healy finished her ODI career with 3777 runs in 126 matches and scored eight hundreds and 19 half-centuries in her decade-long career.
- IANS
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