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Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.

Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.

It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place

Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars

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

Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”