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Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I felt 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,” she said.

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

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.

From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

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

It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place

The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.

The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars

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

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

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”