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The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.

Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.

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

Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest 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 review,” Healy said.

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot

Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated 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 great news,” she exclaimed.

The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.

The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”