In front of a full house in Vizag, India’s top order finally delivered the aggressive batting approach they had promised, posting their highest-ever total in a Women’s World Cup, 330 all out in 48.5 overs, against Australia. But despite being 192 for 1 at the 30-over mark, India’s collapse in the final phase left a sense of what might have been.
All of India’s top six contributed, from Richa Ghosh’s quickfire 32 to Smriti Mandhana’s authoritative 80. Yet the team added just 138 runs for the loss of nine wickets in the last 18.5 overs, a stutter that took the edge off an otherwise dominant batting performance.
Australia will now need to pull off the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history if they are to top the table at the halfway stage of the 2025 World Cup.
Put in to bat, India began cautiously. Openers Mandhana and Pratika Rawal negotiated a slow start, soaking up 25 dot balls in the first seven overs. But when spin was introduced, the shackles broke, Mandhana launched Sophie Molineux for six to become the first woman to score over 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year.
Rawal targeted Ash Gardner at the other end, though her approach remained conservative, scoring her fifty off 69 balls. Mandhana brought up her own half-century in just 46 and continued to innovate, at one point exposing her stumps to ramp Gardner over the keeper.
Mandhana crossed another milestone shortly after, becoming the fastest to 5000 ODI runs in women’s cricket, and the pair’s 155-run opening stand became the highest in Women’s World Cup history against Australia.
Her dismissal, holing out for 80 against the run of play, triggered a turning point. Rawal soon followed for 75, mistiming a pull to fine leg.
Harleen Deol, often slow to start, played more freely this time, lofting Molineux for six off just her ninth ball. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur looked in ominous touch too, smashing consecutive boundaries off King, but her innings ended prematurely with a mistimed shot to point.
After a minor stumble at 240 for 4 in the 38th over, India’s finishing hopes rested with Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues. Ghosh brought up a 31-ball fifty stand with Rodrigues and punished anything in her arc, while Rodrigues batted with maturity and control.
India looked set to breach the 350 mark at 310 for 6 with five overs to go.
But Australia’s Annabel Sutherland had other ideas. Mixing pace and length to perfection, she dismantled India’s lower order with a career-best 5 for 46, her maiden ODI five-wicket haul. Ghosh, Rodrigues, and the tail fell in quick succession, with India losing their last four wickets for just 20 runs.
Despite the strong platform, India’s inability to finish the innings strongly may come back to haunt them. Still, with 330 on the board, they’ve given themselves a formidable total to defend, and Australia face a record-breaking task ahead.
