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Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.

From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

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

This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place

The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred 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 almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate 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 official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars

In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, 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 fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”