No team has won more ODI matches than India Women in 2025. Coming into the 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup, the Women in Blue are comfortably placed as the second favourites. Solid players and home advantage give them an edge over all opposition, excluding Australia.
What to expect
In the last 21 months, the India Women have bred excellence in ODI cricket. In their team, they have the highest run-scorer in Smriti Mandhana and the highest wicket-taker in Deepti Sharma. The batting department has consistent batters like Pratika Rawal, someone who has averaged over 50 since her debut.
Deepti also averages over 50 with the bat and has increased her strike rate to over 90. Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh will be the aggressors, as the only batters with a strike rate of over 100. Harleen Doel hasn’t got going. The last remaining one is Harmanpreet Kaur, who is undoubtedly the best batter in India’s Women’s Cricket World Cup history.
Coming to bowling, Sneh Rana has been exceptional in Deepti since she came back into the setup in April. Renuka Singh is one of the best powerplay bowlers, but she’s coming off an injury. But the falloff after is immense.
The other bowlers who have taken more than 10 wickets in ODIs since 2024 are Priya Mishra, Kranti Goud, and Arundhati Reddy. Priya isn’t selected, Kranti has played just 8 international matches, and Arundhati hasn’t played much, plus she recently got injured in the warm-up match.
Big question: Can India beat Australia?
The biggest roadblock between India and the Women’s Cricket World Cup trophy is Australia Women. Apart from being 7-time champions, they are also defending their title. Their dominance is well known. But India will have some belief. Earlier this month, the India Women beat Australia by 102 runs.
This was Australia’s biggest ever run-margin defeat in ODI cricket. Yes, India lost the series, but they gave the best team in the world a run for their money. Since Meg Lanning has retired, there are a few chinks in the armour. Alyssa Healy’s captaincy hasn’t been great. There’s a slight overdependence on Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry’s consistent runs as well.
So, while beating Australia is tough, it’s not the herculean task it was a mere 3 years ago.
Ghosts of the past & weakness
Players like Harmanpreet, Smriti, and Deepti have tasted the worst defeat in the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup final against England. While it’ll hurt, they know the do’s and don’ts if they reach the knockout stage. Others, however, are fairly experienced. They might get tight when the big moment arrives.
Apart from inexperience, there are a few other issues. Strike rotations, strike rate, running between wickets, and the biggest of all, fielding. Pratika starts well, but slows down, while it’s the complete opposite for Doel. The former struggles after the powerplay to get those easy singles, and the same happens for the latter when she arrives in the middle.
Deepti, Richa, Pratika, and Harmanpreet are all prone to brain-fades while running. Some of them, like Deepti and Richa, aren’t that quick in between the wickets either. This was highlighted against Australia recently as well.
Coming to the fielding part, India has been one of the worst fielding sides in 2025. Only Zimbabwe and the USA have a worse catching record than the Women in Blue. Against Australia, they dropped over 10 catches in 3 matches as well. In the biggest matches, the margin is small, and one extraordinary or poor effort in the field can change the game.
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