On Thursday, October 30, the Indian women’s cricket team put up a performance for the ages at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and as a result, they reached the final of the 2025 Women’s World Cup. This remarkable achievement saw the team’s biggest night in cricket history, as they knocked out Australia from the tournament. The victory was the result of an incredible display of skill, grit, and mental toughness against one of the strongest teams in the sport in a very stressful semifinal match.
India had to chase a tough target of 338 runs after losing the toss, and they received early blows to their innings. The out-of-form opener Shafali Verma and the star player Smrit Mandhana’s dismissals instantly put the team under pressure. But Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur came together and made a spectacular recovery, leading to a powerful partnership worth 127 runs that changed the game in India’s favor.
Harmanpreet Kaur was the top scorer at that moment with 88 runs before she got out, while Jemimah Rodrigues was on the crease with an imposing score of 127 runs off 134 balls. Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh also played their part in the lower order, adding valuable runs at a time when they were in need of support. Their combined efforts not only helped India to chase the huge target but also to celebrate the unforgettable victory that took them to the World Cup final.
India’s historic triumph
India’s triumph crashed the records in women’s cricket history completely. The unbroken run of Australia of 3054 days got interrupted and they lost their 15 matches, which were winning runs that equaled their own previous record from 1997 to 2000. This was Australia’s first World Cup loss since 2017 when India had beaten them in the semifinal in Derby. The Southern Stars had an amazing record that included an undefeated 2022 campaign where they won the tournament.
The epic battle involved the setting of the highest targets ever in female cricket. India’s quest for 339 already set the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history and surpassed the earlier mark of Australia in this tournament. This scenario happened only when it was the third time in women’s ODIs and the second time in World Cup history that 300-plus was chased. India had never in a World Cup game chased over 200 runs, so they broke the record of 196 runs already standing since their chase against Pakistan in 2013.
Australia suffered losses with historic firsts. In women’s ODIs, a team had to chase over 300 and it was India that achieved this milestone, thus, the victory being a first for them. The total of 679 runs scored was the maximum aggregate in a women’s World Cup ODI match. Moreover, this semi-final turned out to be the first World Cup knockout game in cricket (men’s and women’s) where a 300-plus target was met successfully, thus showing the extraordinary nature of the Indian feat.
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