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Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.

Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

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

It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.

Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place

The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Stars

Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

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

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”