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Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

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

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.

Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest 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 reflect on,” Healy commented.

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.

The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place

The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

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

Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.

A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”