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Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.

“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.

Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

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

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.

Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot

Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

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

Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads

In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”