New Delhi:
Alyssa Healy is acknowledged as one of the legends in women's cricket. Playing for the champion Australian cricket team, Healy's keeping and batting is acknowledged as top class, especially in the Twenty20 format. However, during the third Twenty20 International between Australia and Sri Lanka at the North Sydney Oval, Healy rewrote the history books and created a new world record. Healy smashed 148 off 61 balls, the highest individual score by a woman cricketer in Twenty20 Internationals as Australia won by 132 runs to sweep the series 3-0.
Healy's knock of 148 broke the previous record set by her teammate Meg Lanning, who blasted 133 against England at Chelmsford during the recent Women's Ashes series. However, Healy's century came off 46 balls and it is the second-fastest in Women's Twenty20 International history behind West Indies' Deandra Dottin, who smashed a ton off 38 balls against South Africa in St Kitts in 2010. However, it is the fastest by an Australian player, once again breaking Lanning's mark of 53 against Ireland in the 2014 World T20 in Sylhet.
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Australia chose to bat and Healy began with a bang, hammering Achini Kulasuriya for a boundary and a six. In the fourth over bowled by Ama Kanchana, Healy smashed two fours and a six as the carnage continued. Australia raced past fifty in just the fifth over when Healy launched Prabodhani for a six. Sri Lanka had some relief when Chamari Athapathu got rid of Beth Mooney but the carnage continued.
Healy smashed Shashikala Siriwardene for a four and a six and launched Inoshi Priyadharshani for a hat-trick of fours.
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The right-hander smashed three more fours off Priyadharshani and notched up a century. The 18th and the 19th over witnessed mayhem with Healy hammering another hat-trick of fours, this time off Achini Kulasuriya. In the 19th over bowled by Kanchana, there was total destruction as Healy blasted four boundaries and a six with the bowler conceding 28 runs. In the fifth ball of the over, Healy's four gave her the new world record.
Although she hit a six off Athapathu, the seveth in her knock, she could not reach 150 and Australia ended on 226/2. In response, Athapathu, who had hit a century, looked good during her knock of 31 but the Sri Lankan players floundered against the accuracy of Nicola Carey, who took 3/15 from her four overs. Sri Lanka could manage just 94/7 and Australia were crowned the series winners.
"It was just one of those days where everything seemed to come out of the middle, so I'll take that," Healy told the TV broadcaster.
