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Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated 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 dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.

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

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.

It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place

Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.

The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Leads

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

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

Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 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. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”