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Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.

Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.

“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.

Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.

Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

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

It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.

The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place

The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.

The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.

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

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”