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Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.

Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.

Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

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

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot

The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century

Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Leads

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

Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.

A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”