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The Australian skipper has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.

Healy remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.

“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.

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

From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot

Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.

The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars

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

Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.

“It's fantastic 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 anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”