India’s hopes of a smooth victory against England turned into heartbreak on Sunday, as the hosts lost by just four runs in a tense 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup match at Holkar Stadium. At one stage, India looked in total control, cruising at 234 for three in the 42nd over while chasing England’s 288 for eight.
Smriti Mandhana, who was batting beautifully on 88 off 94 balls, seemed poised to take her team home before she mistimed a shot off Linsey Smith and was caught in the deep by Alice Capsey.
That dismissal triggered a stunning collapse – India managed only 50 runs in the final 52 balls, losing three wickets in the process. The defeat not only handed England a semifinal spot but also left India’s campaign hanging by a thread. To stay alive in the tournament, they now must win their remaining matches against New Zealand on October 23 and Bangladesh on October 26 in Navi Mumbai.
Even with 14 runs needed from the last over and Amanjot Kaur and Sneh Rana at the crease, India couldn’t get over the line as Smith held her nerve, conceding just nine runs. After the match, Mandhana took responsibility for the team’s collapse.
“I mean, it collapsed – everyone saw that. I think everyone’s shot selections at that time could have been better. It started from me, so I will take it on me that the shot selection should have been better. We just needed six (runs) per over and maybe we should have taken the game deeper,” Mandhana said.
Harmanpreet calls Mandhana’s wicket the turning point
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored 70 and shared a 125-run stand with Mandhana, agreed that her deputy’s wicket changed the course of the match.
“I think Smriti’s wicket was a turning point for us, and I still think we had too many batters. I don’t know how things went the other way, but credit goes to England — they kept bowling well and getting wickets there,” she said at the post-match presentation.
The skipper admitted it was tough to digest the loss after having dominated most of the match. “It is bad because you have put in so much hard work and kept ticking the boxes till the end, but the last 5-6 overs didn’t go according to plan. That’s the worst, but definitely, it’s a very heartbreaking moment,” she added.
Much of the finishing burden has fallen on young wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, who failed to fire this time with just eight runs off 10 balls. Mandhana, however, defended the lower order.
Focus shifts to must-win clash against New Zealand
Despite three consecutive losses, all against top-tier SENA teams, Mandhana struck an encouraging tone ahead of India’s must-win clash against New Zealand.
“In cricket, nothing comes easy. For sure, the next match will be a virtual quarterfinal in terms of getting into the top four, and you don’t play cricket to have easy days. We’ll all take this in our stride,” Mandhana said.
Adding to it she mentioned, “we all know where we could have done better and where we went wrong. If you’re playing a sport, you’re meant to have good days and bad days. It’s about how you take those bad days and move on”.
