Women World Cup Second Semi-Final: India vs Australia

​Navi Mumbai, DY Patil Stadium, October 30, 2025 – The second semi-final of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 saw a clash between the defending champions Australia and the hosts India. In this thrilling encounter, Australia batted first and posted a mammoth total of 338 runs, setting a huge challenge for the Indian team to chase. Outstanding performances from star players like Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur brought a historic turn to the match. This match witnessed a world record run-chase in women’s ODI cricket. This article provides a detailed discussion on Australia’s massive total in the first innings, India’s historic batting performance in the second innings, the turning points of the match, and the significance of this victory.

​First Innings: Australia Piles Up Runs on the Bat of Litchfield-Perry

​Winning the toss, Australian captain Alyssa Healy opted to bat first. Although Australia’s opener Alyssa Healy got out cheaply, Phoebe Litchfield then came to the crease. She partnered with the experienced Ellyse Perry to build a huge 155-run partnership for the second wicket, which laid the foundation for Australia’s innings. Litchfield scored an explosive century of 119 runs off just 93 balls. After this partnership was broken, Perry was out for 77 runs. Following this, Ashleigh Gardner came to the crease and formed another quick partnership with Tahlia McGrath. Gardner played a stormy innings of 63 runs off just 45 balls. Australia was all out for a massive total of 338 runs in 49.5 overs.

​Among the Indian bowlers, Shree Charani and Deepti Sharma both took 2 wickets each. Additionally, Radhika Yadav, Renuka Singh Thakur, and Kranti Gaude each took 1 wicket.

• ​Australia Scorecard: 338 Runs/10 Wickets/49.5 Overs

​Second Innings: Jemimah’s Patience and Harmanpreet’s Attack

​Chasing a huge target of 339 runs, India got off to a very poor start. Openers Shafali Verma (8) and Smriti Mandhana (24) were quickly dismissed, and India’s score stood at 47 runs for 2 wickets.

​In this difficult situation, the young star Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur took charge of the team. The two built a massive 167-run partnership for the third wicket, which was the key to securing the victory. Harmanpreet Kaur was out after playing a crucial innings of 89 runs off 88 balls. Soon after, Deepti Sharma was also out for 24 runs.

​But Jemimah continued to bat coolly. Australian fielders dropped two easy catches when she was on 82 and 106, opportunities which Jemimah capitalized on to remain unbeaten until the end, playing a historic innings of 127 runs. Batters like Richa Ghosh (26) added the necessary runs towards the end. Finally, India won by 5 wickets, scoring 341 runs with 9 balls to spare.

​Among the Australian bowlers, Annabel Sutherland took 2 wickets. Additionally, Kim Garth and Ashleigh Gardner each took 1 wicket.

• ​India Scorecard: 341 Runs/5 Wickets/48.3 Overs

• India Women Team won by 5 wickets.

​Top 5 Moments of the Match

1. ​Jemimah Rodrigues’ Unbeaten 127: Jemimah’s historic unbeaten century under pressure was the core foundation of India’s victory.
2. ​Litchfield-Perry’s 155-Run Partnership: This partnership laid the base for Australia’s huge total in the first innings.
3. ​Harmanpreet-Jemimah’s 167-Run Partnership: This massive partnership brought India back into the match and propelled them toward the world record.
4. ​Alyssa Healy’s Catch Miss: The dropped catch when Jemimah Rodrigues was on 82 was the turning point of the match.
5. ​World Record Run-Chase: India’s victory by breaking the world record for the highest run-chase (339) in women’s ODI cricket was the biggest and most historic moment of the match.

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