IND vs NZ: India face 'do-or-die' challenge against Sophie Devine and co. to make semifinals

Navi Mumbai: Playing at a familiar venue in the tournament at last, a nervous-looking India, grappling with the pressure of expectations of a home World Cup, will look to control their fate and seal the last semifinal berth in what would be a virtual quarterfinal against T20 World Cup champions New Zealand, in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday.

Coming off three disappointing defeats on the trot against SENA countries, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side, facing mounting criticism and still trying to figure out their best combination, will aim to become the fourth team to book the semifinal berth if they get the better of the White Ferns here.


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However, any more mistakes and another poor outing will leave India dependent on other scenarios in a format which sees only four teams eliminated out of eight after the conclusion of an exhaustive group stage .

Struggling to find their rhythm and still struggling to find their best combination, India, thanks to New Zealand's last two matches, against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Colombo being washed out, must consider themselves lucky that they are still in the race for the semifinals.

From here too, New Zealand has a tougher ask than India in order to make the cut.


Even if they lose to New Zealand, India will be in contention if they beat Bangladesh in their last league match at the same venue on Sunday, provided the White Ferns lose to England on October 26 in Vizag.

New Zealand, on the other hand, must win both their remaining matches against India and England in order to make the semis.


The fact that they clinched the Women's T20 World Cup exactly a year ago in UAE, and that they have a good record against India - 34 wins in 57 WODIs, including six in the last nine since 2022, should give New Zealand plenty of encouragement.

During their victorious T20 World Cup campaign, the White Ferns outplayed India by 58 runs.

With only the white-ball platform to showcase their skills - the New Zealand women's team hasn't played Test cricket since 2004 - veteran players skipper Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates will be keen to add one more crown in their cabinet.


Facing a 'do-or-die' situation, New Zealand will bank on their skipper Devine, who is also the third highest run-getter with 260 runs in five matches at an average of 86.66, including a century and two fifties.


A couple of days before this key clash, India's training session was washed out due to unseasonal rain.

However, the weather was clear on Wednesday, even as the ground was covered with white sheets in the evening in case it rains. Thankfully, the weather is likely to hold up on match day.


Showing the tendency to choke at the sight of victory, India have repeatedly cracked under pressure despite having a majority of the game in their grasp. While both Australia and South Africa exposed the chinks in India's bowling armour with spirited chases, Harmanpreet Kaur & Co suffered one of their most haunting defeats in Indore when they failed to make 56 from 54 balls with seven wickets intact on a batting paradise.


The shocking loss revived the unpleasant memories of a similarly heartbreaking defeat in the summit clash of the 2017 Women's World Cup. On July 23, 2017 at Lord's India, chasing 229 against tournament hosts England, were cruising at 191 for three in the 43rd over, but suffered a sensational collapse that saw them lose seven wickets for 28 runs in 29 balls, folded up for 219 in 48.4 overs and went on to lose by nine runs.


Even as they started their campaign with wins against weaker sides like Sri Lanka and Pakistan, much of India’s problems can be traced back to the fact that, in search of allrounders, they opted for a playing combination with no sixth bowling option available for the first four matches.

On a flat pitch at Vizag, it was a strategy which led to defeats against Australia and South Africa.


A major relief for India from Indore was the much-needed return to form of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who made a superb 70-ball 70 after managing to score just 71 in four matches previously. However, the 36-year-old batter must curb her tendency to keep employing the cut shot -all her dismissals in the World Cup have been to deliveries pitched outside off-stump. Perhaps, playing more in the 'V' can help her rediscover her 'World Cup midas touch,' which has seen her average 50 in the previous two WODI World Cups.


While she has been preferred over Jemimah Rodrigues, No 3 batter Harleen Deol has not been able to convert her impressive starts, getting out for 48, 46, 13, 38 & 24.


The pitch at the DY Patil Stadium has traditionally been a belter, but it offered plenty of help to the spinners during the low-scoring thriller between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Surprisingly, though they've played in many T20Is at this venue, this is the first time that the Indian women's team will play a WODI at the DY Patil Stadium. The Indian players also have the experience of playing WPL matches here.


It's apparent that India rely heavily on Smriti Mandhana at the start and Richa Ghosh in the death overs for the big hits. So far, none of India's top batters have lasted long enough to finish games, and none of the lower-order batters seem to have the strength to clear the boundaries. The bowlers started off well, but have failed to deliver consistently.


After she took three for 20 in 10 overs to star in India's 88-run win over Pakistan, 22-year-old pacer Kranti Goud has completely gone off the radar, conceding two for 59 in nine overs against South Africa, 0 for 73 in nine overs against Australia and 0-46 in eight overs against England.


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