From pressure to poise: Australia’s reminder of what greatness looks like as they crush India in highest ODI chase

They say that when the lights shine the brightest, when the pressure is at its peak, when it feels that there is no other option but to succeed, and when the jeopardy far outweighs the delight that potential triumph would bring, only the best survive. And thrive.

World Cups and big finals, across sports, are those moments. When the glare of the globe descends upon the action, and when the transformation from challengers to champions truly materializes. And while Sunday was, by no stretch, a final, it felt like a pivotal moment at the Women’s World Cup. For Australia. For India. And for Alyssa Healy .

Healy finds her form again

Healy’s pedigree is not up for debate. Nor is that the point of this piece. But in 2023, she had averaged 16.87 across eight ODI innings, and 310 runs at an average of 34.44 a year later did not do justice to her talent. Or her stature.

In between, she was also made Australia’s all-format captain and until October 11, 2025, she was yet to score a century as Australia’s skipper. Or in any international match since her 170 against England in the final of the 2022 Women’s World Cup.

To add to that, this World Cup campaign had not begun very auspiciously. She looked good against New Zealand but fell in tame fashion to Bree Illing. Against Pakistan, she got off the blocks briskly, only to chip one to mid-wicket, with her dismissal perhaps setting into motion one of Australia’s most dramatic World Cup collapses.

So, the odds were stacked against her coming into Sunday’s game. Not quite giving off last-chance saloon vibes, but enough for Australia and for Healy to feel the pinch. And if you think Healy came up trumps, that is exactly what happened. Because, well, that is what Healy does.

She produced one of the greatest-ever knocks in a run-chase in Women’s World Cup cricket. 331 was not an easy target. In fact, no team had EVER made these many in a run chase in women’s ODIs to win a game. Let alone in a World Cup. But Healy made it look routine, rattling along to 142 at a strike rate of more than 132. And the best (or the most unnerving, based on allegiance) part was that it never felt as if she had to click into over-drive.

Everything seemed to be in cruise control. Healy’s lofted shots were measured; those along the ground delivered with surgical precision. Her forays down the track smacked of confidence, and her adroitness when staying put, oozed assuredness.

So much so that the thousands of Indian fans who had gathered at Vishakhapatnam would have, at some stage, doffed their hat to Healy. Even if most of her innings had only been enjoyed in silence, and with a bit of shock - around how a cricketer, who kept wickets for almost 49 overs, could come out to bat straightaway and bat in this fashion.

What India can learn from Healy

But for India, who were at Healy’s mercy and facing her wrath yet again, there may have been a very vital lesson along the way.

India, like Healy possibly was before Sunday, are now under pressure. Their top-order finally clicked, but their lower order could not sustain it. Their decision to play the extra batter almost paid off, but it did leave them short with the ball. India were also bowled out in 48.5 overs, which meant they wasted seven balls. In a high-scoring game, against a top opposition, and in a contest that was always going to be decided on and by fine margins.

But all is not lost. Not yet anyway. India still have three round-robin games to play. And they will look at most of them as winnable fixtures, even if England, at the time of writing, are one of only two unbeaten teams and the only side with a 100 percent record at this tournament.

For India to win those matches, though, they need to take a leaf out of Healy’s book, and adopt the sort of controlled aggression and locked-in mentality she brought to the table in Sunday’s run-chase.

While Healy was in the middle, Australia picked and chose their moments to attack perfectly, in addition to never getting stuck in a dot-ball rut. They sensed the powerplay was the best phase to put pressure back on India, and they rollicked along to 82-0. They did not lose momentum after the field restrictions were lifted, but they did not go searching for boundary opportunities either.

They waited for their chance, and in the 31-40 over period, they broke the back of the run-chase – this time, collecting 88 during that stretch and bringing the equation down to less than run-a-ball.

India need belief against Australia

What seems to also be plaguing India is a mental block. Especially against Australia at these multi-nation events. They may have beaten them in the semi-final in 2017, but that seems eons ago, with Australia, on each occasion since, figuring out a way to win crucial moments.

It almost feels like in these situations, India, somehow, are unable to muster the belief that they may actually have enough to outthink and outmaneuver Australia. Not quite stage fright because India have pushed Australia very close at times, including on Sunday. But perhaps a variant of it, wherein India, after getting onto the big stage and soaking in the atmosphere, fluff their closing lines and get daunted by the competition.

Which is precisely what Healy or Australia, for that matter, never seem to do. It helps that they are the gold standard in the women’s game, but that bravery and courage on the day, irrespective of what has gone down before it, is pretty special. And that ability to remain unfazed and to keep emotions in check, subsequently makes preempting the opposition’s plans much easier, and makes finding a solution far less tedious, as Healy showed on Sunday.

Whenever India decided to pack the off-side and bowl wide, she had an answer ready. When they tried to bowl short, Healy gobbled them up as her evening snack and when India ventured into her preferred zones, she feasted and left no crumbs. Which further reiterated that Healy and Australia, when the pressure is amped up, and when the lights are turned up a notch, come to life.

And that is what India now need to channel. History is not on their side. Recent form is not on their side either. There are a few murmurs around if they have lost their spark. Or if these bright lights are just too blinding for them, even in known terrains.

But most of that was going against Healy prior to Sunday as well. And India can narrate a first-hand account of how she made all of that chatter and noise disappear, and dispelled the doubts that may have been creeping in. It will, of course, not be easy. It will not happen overnight. And it will not happen just because India or millions of their fans are manifesting it.

To be the champions, though, you have to beat the champions. And to beat champions like Australia and Healy, mirroring their spirit and bravado is perhaps the only viable option. Especially because everything else, at the moment, is simply not working.