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The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple 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 bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.

From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.

It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place

Healy was pleased 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 last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.

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

Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars

In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”