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The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.

Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.

From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked 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 little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.

This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.

Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot

The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.

The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century

Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Leads

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.

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

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”