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Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place

Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the 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 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Leads

In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

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

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”