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Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.

“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.

Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.

From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.

It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place

The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.

The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Leads

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target 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’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”