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The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.

From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot

Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.

The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century

Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.

The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads

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

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”