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The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.

Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.

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

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two 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 bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.

From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

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

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries 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 Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.

The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.

A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”