By Lorenzo Di-Mauro Hayes, ACS Journalism Scholar (mentored by The Footy Almanac‘s John Harms).
When Tayla McGrath doesn’t take a catch to dismiss Jemimah Rodrigues, no Australian on the field seems fazed. They are behind in this do-or-die semi-final; India is batting well and only need a little more than eight runs an over to win. But they are not panicking. This is the confidence of the Australia women’s cricket team. This is the confidence when you win on such a consistent basis. Something will happen, that will turn the game in favour of the Australians. That’s the way it has always gone.
The Women’s Cricket World Cup in India was one of the greatest advertisements for women’s cricket we’ve ever seen. The tournament was hosted in India for the fourth time, but Australia was the main draw. Could it have been any other team? They have been the dominating force in the women’s game for so long. Throughout this tournament, they were putting up great performances wherever they played.
Ash Gardiner top-scored with 115 in Australia’s first match when they beat New Zealand by 89 runs. After a match against Sri Lanka was rained out in Colombo, Australia looked in a fair bit of trouble against Pakistan. But then Beth Mooney and Alana King held firm for a 106-run partnership for the ninth wicket, the biggest in a women’s One Day International (ODI) match. The Australians then bowled out Pakistan for 114, getting themselves well and truly out of a jam. Annabel Sutherland took a five-wicket haul against India, who still produced a strong 330. But an Alyssa Healy masterclass 142 guided the Australians to a 3-wicket win with an over to spare. Healy again dominated making 113 not out as Australia pumped Bangladesh by 10 wickets after restricting their opponents to 198. Gardiner reached three figures against England as Australia won that match in Indore by six wickets.
Undefeated and a top of the standings, the Australians had to face the host India, who squeezed into the four. India started with two wins against Sri Lanka in the tournament’s rain-effected opener before beating Pakistan. From there, India dropped their next three but a win over New Zealand booked their spot in the semi-finals. They came into the match against Australia having been on top against Bangladesh, but rain had forced a no result.
When they played in the group stage, India made 330 in the first innings which turned out to be not enough. Phoebe Litchfield makes 119 in the semi-final practically ensuring India would have to go beyond what they did in the sides previous meeting. However, India were successful in the one way to slow down Australia, take wickets. Australia bats very deep; Alana King batted at nine in this semi-final and would be a middle-order batter in other World Cup teams. Australia could have made more than the 338 they did, but no doubt they were in a great position. India kept the pressure on throughout the match with bat and ball, and Australia looked a bit out of sync. Their fielding wasn’t as good as usual, there were head-high full tosses and just more mistakes than normal. India made mistakes too but the big third wicket partnership was what won the game for India. The best teams or individual sports players can pounce on one mistake and shut the gate. India didn’t give Australia many chances and when they did Australia couldn’t capitalise; such as Healy dropping a regulation top edge in the 33rd over with Jemimah on 82. Jemimah would reach three figures and end with a score of 127 not out and her performance proved essential to the Indians completing the task. So, India ended up getting over the line by five wickets with nine balls to spare. Ian Bishop on commentary was right: “It must surely be the greatest run chase in the history of women’s one day internationals”.
India’s opponent had been decided the day before. In the other semi-final, Laura Wolvaardt surpassed 5,000 ODI career runs and three figures with a stunning 169 off 143. Nearly half of South Africa’s innings she faced, and she faced it brilliantly. South Africa’s 319 was too much of a mountain to climb being restricted to 194 with Marizanne Kapp taking 5/20 over seven overs.
In the final itself, India were sent into bat after South Africa won the toss. India got off to a great start with a 104-run stand for the first wicket. Smriti Mandhana was the first batter dismissed on 45 off 58. Most Indian players in the final who batted contributed at least a little bit with the bat. But it was Shafali Verma’s 87 off 78 that was the top score. Next, Deepti Sharma made a run per ball 58 until she was run out on the last ball of the innings. That meant India finished at 298 after 50 overs. Needing 299 for victory, South Africa was at the mercy of Sharma who backed up her batting, with bowling figures of 5/39 in 9.3 overs. In a similar method to the semi-final, India took wickets consistently over the South African innings. When Nadine de Klerk was dismissed for 18, there were no more wickets to take and no more mountains to conquer. India had won the World Cup.
Spare a thought for Wolvaardt. The South African was the top run scorer in this tournament making 571 runs, a new Women’s World Cup record. Her class was best shown in the knockout stage. A century in the semi-final followed by 101 off 98 in the final. Sharma ended the tournament as the top wicket-taker with 22 wickets at an average of 20.40.
What makes India’s World Cup win remarkable is that they went through a three-game losing streak against South Africa, Australia and England in the middle of the tournament. They were in dire trouble to not even make the last four. This journey to the final contrasts with the Indian men’s team in 2023. That team had the perfect, almost unchallenged run to the final before falling apart in the final against Australia. If the Indians want to win a World Cup, they almost always have to get through Australia. Had India failed to make the semi-final, questions would have been asked of the host nation. They got to that semi-final, outplayed women’s cricket best team and lifted the Cup. In 2023. The Indian men were supposed to win the World Cup, but they didn’t. In 2025, the India women was not supposed to win the World Cup, but they did win it and they won it well.
Australian Cricket Society’s literary scholar Lorenzo Di-Mauro Hayes is mentored by writer John Harms. His pieces are also published at www.footyalmanac.com.au .