Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal are some of the best batters in ODI cricket. Renuka Singh might be the best powerplay bowler going around, and Sneh Rana is one of the finest spinners at the moment. Indian women are in the highest echelon when it comes to skills and performance.
This was in full display in the India Women vs Australia Women 2nd ODI. Harmanpreet Kaur’s team beat the Aussies by 102 runs. It was the first occurrence that Australia lost by over 100 runs in a 50-over match. India hadn’t beaten them in 4 years. It’s a massive win.
But even during this moment, there’s much to worry about before the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. Although India won, they dropped 6 catches today. Australia gave them 13 chances, but only 7 of these were taken. In the first match, the situation was even worse. India dropped 4 chances and converted just one of 5 chances.
India’s catching record in the Australia series
- Catches taken: 8
- Catches dropped: 10
- Catching Efficiency: 44.44%
The bigger issue for the Women in Blue is that this isn’t an aberration. It’s the norm. 14 teams have played ODI cricket in 2025. Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the West Indies. Of these, only Zimbabwe and the USA have a worse catching record than India.
In 13 ODIs played in 2025, India has generated 80 chances. That issue is that their catching efficiency is 58.75%, ranking them 12th. Mind you, India Women are considered one of the contenders to win the ODI World Cup, yet teams like Ireland, Scotland, and Thailand, who haven’t even qualified for the tournament, are better fielding teams than them.
India’s ODI catching record in 2025
- Catches taken: 47
- Catches dropped: 33
- Catching Efficiency: 58.75%
Fielding is perhaps the only controllable thing in cricket. You may not be as talented as top players with the bat or ball, but you can match them when it comes to fielding. We have seen the men’s team of Papua New Guinea show their prowess in this department despite them being ranked outside the best T20I teams. If they can do it, surely India Women can as well.
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