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The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.

Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.

Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

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

It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot

The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

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

Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.

A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”