Navi Mumbai: Having somehow managed to stay alive in the tournament and make it to the semifinals with a mix of luck and pluck, hosts India, cheered on by a partisan capacity crowd of almost 55,000, will hope to pull off a miracle against mighty Australia in a blockbuster 2025 Women's ODI World Cup semifinal at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday.
There is some concern about rain affecting the big game — the IMD predicts “a partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers,” though a washout is unlikely.
The record book heavily favours Australia, who have won 49 of 60 WODIs against India, including three in World Cups. However, India famously beat them in the 2017 semifinal at Derby, thanks to an inspirational knock by
Harmanpreet Kaur. Australia haven’t lost a World Cup knockout since.
If anyone can recreate that kind of innings, it’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana. She is just four runs short of 1,000 runs against Australia in WODIs and has been in the form of her life. Before the World Cup, she smashed back-to-back centuries in a home series — a 77-ball ton at Chandigarh and a 50-ball century at Delhi. Picking up after a slow start, Mandhana is the tournament’s top run-getter with 365 runs in seven matches at 60.83, including one century and two fifties.
India, though, will be hampered by the injury to her young opening partner Pratika Rawal, who has scored 308 runs in six matches at 51.33. Their prolific partnership of 1,799 runs in 23 innings at 78.21, including a record 212-run stand against New Zealand at this venue, will be missed. Mandhana will now open with Shafali Verma, who is explosive but inconsistent.
India might consider bringing back left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, who took 3 for 30 and effected a direct-hit run out against Bangladesh. So far, the management has stuck with Sneh Rana, who went for 0-85 against Australia earlier in the tournament.
India will hope captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who has managed just 151 runs in seven matches at 25.16, can find form. Jemimah Rodrigues’ unbeaten 76 off 55 against New Zealand was a huge boost, while Deepti Sharma (15 wickets at 22.46 and 133 runs at 26.60) remains key.
There’s a minor concern over wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, who trained on Tuesday but rested on match eve.
On a likely batting-friendly surface, India may prefer to bat first and post a big total against a not-too-threatening Australian attack, even though they lost after scoring 330 in the league stage at Vizag.
Beating Australia, however, will be no easy task. The seven-time champions blew away South Africa for 97 in their last match, riding on Alana King’s 7 for 18. Having taken 13 wickets in six matches at 12.92, she poses a major threat with her wrist spin.
Australia’s camp is watching captain Alyssa Healy’s fitness closely after a calf injury. “She trained well yesterday. We’ll give her as much time as she needs before the game,” said head coach Shelly Nitschke. Healy’s young opening partner, Phoebe Litchfield (503 runs in eight WODIs at 63.50 against India), also loves facing India.
Australia stayed unbeaten in the league stage, but as Nitschke said, “Semifinals are anyone's game. It's a pretty level playing field. The team that holds its nerve under pressure will come out on top.”
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