India’s dream of reaching the Women’s World Cup 2025 semifinals is in danger after two back-to-back defeats at home. The defending champions lost to South Africa and then to Australia — both while defending good totals — at Visakhapatnam.
Earlier, India had started the tournament well, beating Sri Lanka by 59 runs and then defeating Pakistan by 88 runs. But in the next two matches, their weaknesses showed. The top order failed against South Africa, while the lower order collapsed against Australia, scoring only 36 runs in the last seven overs.
Despite these losses, India is still in third place on the points table with 4 points from 4 matches and a good net run rate (+0.682). However, their path to the semifinals is now tough.
India will next face unbeaten England in Indore on Sunday, followed by New Zealand in Navi Mumbai on October 23. To stay in the race, India must win both these games — and also beat Bangladesh in their final match.
If India lose to England, their semifinal hopes will depend on other teams’ results, especially South Africa and New Zealand. South Africa still have easier matches ahead against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, which could push them up in the table.
Simply put, India must win all their remaining matches to have a clear chance at making the semifinals. Any more losses could end their title defense early.
