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The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.

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

From the time data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.

This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot

The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.

The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century

Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.

The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.

Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”