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Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

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

It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.

Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place

The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”