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Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.

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

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.

Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place

Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as King Stars

In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.

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

A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”