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

The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.

From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

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

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

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot

The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.

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

Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.

The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads

Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.

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

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”