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The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.

Healy remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.

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

Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time data was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst 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,” the captain said.

It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But Alana King 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 target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot

Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Stars

In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.

“It's fantastic 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 going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”