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Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.

Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.

From the time data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.

This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars

Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”