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Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.

Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.

From the time data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.

Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted 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 reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Leads

In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”