India Women Aim to End 47-Year World Cup Wait, Ready to Make History

With home advantage and blazing form, the Indian women’s cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, is poised to end a 47-year quest for their first ICC ODI World Cup title as they kick off their campaign against Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Guwahati. Ranked world No. 3, India is riding high after recent victories over England in ODI and T20I series and a morale-boosting performance against Australia, where they nearly chased down 413 in a thrilling New Delhi ODI.

The 13th edition of the Women’s ODI World Cup, hosted across four Indian venues and Colombo, features eight elite teams—Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan—battling in a round-robin format for a record-breaking $13.88 million prize pool, nearly quadruple that of 2022 and surpassing the men’s 2023 event. This aligns with the ICC’s push for pay parity, amplifying the global spotlight on women’s cricket. Colombo will host 11 matches, including a high-stakes India-Pakistan clash on October 5, with one semifinal and the final also slated there if Pakistan advances.

India’s batting firepower is led by vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who is in scintillating form, averaging 66.28 with a strike rate of 115.85 and four ODI centuries this year, including back-to-back tons against Australia. Partnering with young opener Pratika Rawal, Mandhana provides a robust foundation, compensating for Shafali Varma’s absence. Harmanpreet, a veteran of five World Cups, boasts a tournament average above 50, recently smashing a century against England and a fifty against Australia. Jemimah Rodrigues, back from injury, anchors the middle order with a composed 66 in a warm-up against England, while Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, and Deepti Sharma add depth. All-rounder Amanjot Kaur bolsters the seam attack.

Also Read: Harmanpreet Kaur’s Winning Mindset Drives India’s World Cup Hopes

The return of Renuka Singh from injury strengthens India’s pace bowling, alongside 22-year-old Kranti Goud, who stunned with a 6/52 haul in England, joining Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav as the only Indians to claim six wickets in an ODI there. However, the pace unit—comprising Renuka, Kranti, Arundhati Reddy, and Amanjot—lacks experience, with just 25 ODIs between the latter three, and recent injuries to Reddy and Amanjot raise concerns. India’s spin attack, led by Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Sneh Rana, and N Sree Charani, is primed for home conditions, though flat pitches may limit turn.

India’s mental resilience remains a hurdle, with past collapses in clutch moments, like the 2017 World Cup final and 2022 Commonwealth Games final against Australia. Co-hosts Sri Lanka, led by Chamari Athapaththu and bolstered by young all-rounder Dewmi Vihanga’s 11-wicket haul in a recent Tri-Nation series, aim to leverage home support in Colombo to reach the top four.

Australia, the defending champions under Alyssa Healy, are favorites, unbeaten in World Cups on Indian soil, while England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt, New Zealand, and South Africa, fresh off T20 successes, pose stiff challenges. Pakistan and Bangladesh round out the field. India’s women, who reached the finals in 2005 and 2017, are no longer underdogs and are determined to seize this historic chance to claim the crown on home turf.

Also Read: Smriti Mandhana Says Indian Women Cricketers See Themselves as Match-Winners