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The Australian skipper has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.

Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display 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 analyze,” the captain commented.

This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.

The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later 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 Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.

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

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”