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The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.

From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed catches 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 said.

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot

Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as King Stars

In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”