Colombo, Oct 8 (IANS) Alyssa Healy hailed Beth Mooney’s match-defining century as “one of the best innings” she has witnessed after Australia Women stormed to a commanding 107-run victory over Pakistan in their ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday.

The emphatic win kept Australia’s unbeaten record intact with 17-0 and propelled the defending champions to the top of the points table with two wins and one no result from three matches.

“Two points. We move on, look, I think that is one of the best innings I have seen Moons play in my career so far,” Healy said after the match. “Thanks to her, we got ourselves on the board. At one stage, we were looking to get to 150–160 and try and defend it, so to get over 200 was a huge effort.”

Australia were reeling at 76/7 after Pakistan’s spinners took control, but Mooney (109 off 114) and Alana King (51 not out off 49) staged a remarkable rescue act, adding 106 runs for the ninth wicket — the highest ninth-wicket stand in Women’s ODIs. Their partnership lifted Australia to 221/9 from what once looked like a hopeless position.

Reflecting on the conditions, Healy noted how sharply the surface had changed from their previous outing. “It changed drastically from the last game when we were supposed to play Sri Lanka. It got quite dry. We didn’t adapt and kept getting out similarly. We will learn from that. We play India next, so we have to switch back on and get ourselves in shape for that.”

Australia’s bowlers then demolished Pakistan’s chase, with Kim Garth (3/14) and Megan Schutt (2-25) ripping through the top order to leave them 42/6 in the powerplay. Annabel Sutherland (2-15), Ashleigh Gardner (1-17), Georgia Wareham (1-15) and King (1-19) completed the rout as Pakistan folded for 114.

Healy praised the collective effort: “It is a credit to our depth — how everyone can contribute in our team. We are creating partnerships, but a little too low down the order. It’s an opportunity for our top order to cash in with a big score. There are so many positives we can take from the two games so far. We won’t dwell on the errors we made tonight.”

Pakistan captain Fatima Sana admitted her side let the game slip after a strong start. “We were on top in the first 20 overs; after that, Mooney played well, and our energy went down. We need to improve on that. If you are on top, you need to remain there till the last ball. Our energy in the field needs to improve.”

Explaining her decision at the toss, she said: “We decided to bowl first because of the pitch. We know we have the best spinners and wanted to play to our strengths. We need more partnerships in the middle, and we will discuss this together.”

–IANS

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