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Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.

Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.

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

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.

From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

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

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot

Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century

Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as King Leads

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

Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.

A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”