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Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.

Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.

“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two 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,” she added.

Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.

This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.

The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Leads

In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”