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The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.

Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.

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

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

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

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

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads

In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

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

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”