India’s Women’s World Cup 2025 semifinal hopes take a hit after a narrow 4-run loss to England, their third straight defeat. Despite fifties from Mandhana, Kaur, and Sharma, the Women in Blue fell short of chasing 289, putting their campaign at risk.
Team India's hopes of qualifying for the semifinal are in jeopardy as they suffered their third consecutive loss in the Women's ODI World Cup 2025 following a defeat to England at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday, October 19. The Women in Blue, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, suffered a narrow 4-run defeat to the four-time champions in a crucial clash.
With a 289-run target, India failed to chase it down as they were restricted to 284/6 in 50 overs. The run chase was led by Smriti Mandhana, who played a brilliant innings of 88 off 94 balls, and Harmanpreet Kaur contributed with a captain's knock of 70 off 70 balls, marking her return to form after a string of poor performances in the tournament. All-rounder Deepti Sharma, who picked four wickets, chipped in with an innings of 50 off 57 balls.
Eventually, half-centuries by Mandhana, Harmanpreet, and Deepti went in vain as the Women in Blue fell just 5 runs short of achieving the target.
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For England, skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt led the bowling attack with a spell of 2/47 at an economy rate of 5.9 in 8 overs. Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Charlotte Dean, and Sophie Ecclestone picked a wicket each.
India Succumb to Pressure at Crucial Moments
After the Women in Blue were reduced to 42/2 after dismissals of opener Pratika Rawal (6) and Harleen Deol (24), the captain-vice-captain duo of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana revived India's batting and steadied the chase, keeping the team's semifinal hopes alive. The pair formed a crucial 125-run stand for the third wicket before Harmanpreet was dismissed at 167/3.
Thereafter, Deepti Sharma joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease to carry on India's run chase. Mandhana continued to anchor the innings and formed a crucial 67-run stand for the fourth wicket with Deepti before the vice-captain was dismissed by Linsey Smith at 234/4. After Mandhana's dismissal, the onus of completing the chase fell on Deepti Sharma and the lower-order batters. The all-rounder was joined by Richa Ghosh at the crease, but the latter was dismissed for 8 at 256/5.
Thereafter, Deepti Sharma was joined by Amanjot Kaur to carry on India's run chase. However, soon after completing fifty, Deepti was dismissed by Sophie Eccleston at 262/6.
At the time of Deepti Sharma's dismissal, India needed 27 runs off 18 balls to win, and Amanjot Kaur was joined by Sneh Rana at the crease. The equation seemed achievable. However, England's disciplined bowling and fielding put Amanjot and Sneh under pressure as they were struggling to find the gaps and rotate the strike effectively.
When the Women in Blue needed 14 runs off six balls to win, the hosts scored 9 runs in the final over of the run chase, falling agonizingly short of the target from a winning position.
What's Next for Team India?
Despite their third consecutive defeat in the tournament, India are at the third spot on the points table with two wins and three losses, accumulating 4 points, and have a net run rate (NRR) of +0.526 in five outings. The Women in Blue's chances of qualifying for the semifinal look like an arduous task as they now must win their remaining matches convincingly and hope for favourable results in other matches in order to secure a top-four spot.
Apart from India, New Zealand are also in contention for the semifinal spot as they are currently at the fifth position on the points table with a win, two losses, and as many no results, accumulating 4 points and have a NRR of -0.245 in five matches. A win in their remaining matches, combined with favourable outcomes in New Zealand's matches, will be vital for the Women in Blue to leapfrog into the top four and keep their Women’s World Cup 2025 semifinal dreams alive.
India's next two matches are against New Zealand (October 23) and Bangladesh (October 26), and both games will be like knock-out encounters if India are to have any realistic chance of advancing to the semifinals of the ongoing edition of the Women's World Cup.
