Australia’s defeat to India in the 2017 World Cup semifinal proved to be a seismic moment in not just the country’s cricketing history but also in Alyssa Healy’s career.
The Women in Blue beat the defending champions by 36 runs in Derby, which then not only prompted Australia to rethink its approach but also pushed Healy up the batting order, which took her game to the next level and sealed her spot in the team.
“I’ve forgotten a lot about the game, but you guys are pretty good at putting it on the telly at every opportunity possible, so it brings back the memory a little bit,” she said with a grin. “But yeah, I think we’ve spoken a lot about how it just drove us to rethink our standards and the way we wanted to approach our cricket.”
IND VS AUS PREVIEW: Unbeaten Australia next challenge for wounded India
“For me personally, it allowed me to open the batting moving forward and open the batting in the Ashes series straight after that World Cup. I’ve been stuck there ever since. For me personally, it was a real turning point. For our team, it made us rethink what we were doing and how we could do it better.”
Eight years since that clash, Healy believes that ‘sleeping giant’ India has finally woken up, thanks in large part to the introduction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
“The rivalry continues to grow. They’ve been almost a sleeping giant in the women’s game for a long period of time. It’s probably since the WPL has come into play that they’ve realised the depth they’ve got and they’ve figured out a style of play that they want to use, especially in this format, and they’re really sticking to that, which I think has been really impressive to see,” she opined.
A packed house is expected at the ACA-VDCA stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday against an Indian side eager to bounce back from the defeat to South Africa. Healy, while excited to play in front of sold-out stands, stated that there was no additional pressure of facing the ‘home’ side in the World Cup.
“There’s absolutely no extra pressure on our team. I think we’ve come here with the job to do, and that hasn’t changed at any point in time. I think it’s going to be a fun experience for our whole group. I’ve heard it sold out, which is a really cool experience, and hopefully there’s a few Aussie fans in the crowd as well,” she said.
Published on Oct 11, 2025
