India has been set a target of 339 by Australia in the second semifinal of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup. But the chase could have been of 317. After the first innings was over, broadcasters showed a disappointing stat. India gave away 22 runs due to misfields.
India’s awful fielding in semifinal
That’s because India dropped 2 catches, missed 1 stumping, gave 8 runs via overthrows, and made countless other errors like fumbles. Neither were tough chances. Harmanpreet Kaur dropped a dolly to give Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy a chance. Luckily, she wasn’t able to make full use of the opportunity.
Phoebe Litchfield was dropped on 102 by wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, and she went on to score 19 further runs. Richa was sloppy with her glove work throughout the innings. But this wasn’t a shock. This has been the case with Richa in the past matches as well.
Radha Yadav, India’s best fielder, was the one who fired in the two overthrows that cost India 8 runs. She also fumbled a run-out chance. But when you are getting nutmegged by balls, running out a player seems out of the realm of possibility.
India’s fielding has been in the dumps throughout the tournament. The India vs Australia semifinal was just another example of the Women in Blue’s dodgy fielding. They have dropped the most catches, missed the most stumpings, misfielded the most, and given away the most overthrows in the Women’s ODI World Cup. India isn’t the worst at catching efficiency, but they aren’t too far away from being the most terrible.
India’s fielding in the tournament
Catches taken: 35
Catches dropped: 18 (most)
Catching efficiency: 66% (second-worst)
Stumpings missed: 3 (joint-most)
Misfields: 74 (most)
Balls with overthrows: 6 (most)
