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Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.

Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

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

This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars

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

Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.

A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”