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Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

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

“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.

Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.

This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

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

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place

The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars

In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.

A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”