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Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.

Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.

Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries 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.

Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Leads

Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.

Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”