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Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.

From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.

This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place

The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century

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

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.

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

Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

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

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”