Australia Women vs India Women, 2nd Semi-Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

India lost to every team that made it to the knockouts in the group stage. Lost the toss (Harmanpreet wanted to bat first as well), sloppy fielding, dropped catches and a mammoth 339 to chase. Not even the best of pundits would have given them a glimmer of a chance at the halfway stage. Whatever the outside noise, India made the chase look ultra professional. Finding boundaries at regular intervals, pinching quick singles and with a little bit of help from the mighty Aussies, they managed to peak at the right time. Just one step away now from claiming their maiden ICC title. It's the same for Proteas as well. India v South Africa at the same venue on Sunday. The best thing about the final is that, there will be a new champion. Let's hope we get a cracker of a contest to top off our weekend. Do remember to join us for that rollercoaster. We will be up and early, bringing you all the action from the venue and beyond. Hope you enjoyed all that we cooked today. Sunday promises to be even more delicious. Alright! Too many cues about appetite I know, but that's what games like these do to you. Time to put my feet up and get the juices flowing for the all-important final. Until then, this is Raju Peethala waving goodbye on behalf of my mates Ramakrishnan MS, Siva and Naveen. Cheers!!

She was just 10 when India lifted the World Cup in 2011 and on seeing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar (her house was just behind Sachin's at that time) return home after the crazy night (2nd April 2011), the little girl had a fair measure of what it meant to her neighbours and the rest of the nation of course. It was that moment which sparked Jemimah to take up sport seriously and the final of 2017 Women's World Cup (went to the Mumbai Airport to greet the Indian cricketers) was another driving factor in translating her dreams into reality. What a journey it has been. The name "Jemimah" will be etched in the memory of every cricket fan and most importantly, it would take some time for the Aussie supporters to process the most sedate mode of destruction that Jemi and her mates induced on them today.

Jemimah Jessica Rodrigues. An India debut at the age of 18 is not everyone's cup of tea. If playing for the national team is one thing, sustaining the skill and mental strength to establish your place in the side is another. Jemimah had it easy at the start of her career, but life seemed like a cul-de-sac when she got dropped from the 2022 World Cup squad. It hurt her really badly, so much so that "she used to cry almost every night and masked her emotions in front of friends and family". After taking a brief mental break, Jemimah switched her focus back to the thing she loves the most - what else, but cricket. She worked with her local coaches, went to the Maidans in Mumbai and was stubborn in her demands - wanted to play on tough pitches and faced tougher bowlers (Men and Women) available in the local circuit. Rewards don't always come rushing towards you. It comes rolling into the lap of those who never give up. Jemimah is one tough pocket rocket and she put all the trolls and mocks of social media, and beyond, to rest with a knock for the ages.

Harmanpreet 2/2: (on the final) Yeah, definitely. Now one more game to go and today we all played well, we are really happy with the result. Now already we have started speaking about our next game. So I think that shows how focused we are and how we are keen to win this World Cup because playing in home condition is very special to us and we just want to give it to our fans, to our families who have been praying for us for so many years. I think this is a great time for us to deliver for our fans and family and hopefully one more game to go and we will keep giving our best. (on the crowd support) Yeah, definitely. We are not playing alone, they are always with us and we are so proud that every game they are coming and pushing us. I think they have been amazing even though when we lost we were getting messages that this World Cup is not the end, you guys are amazing and you can change the result any day, any time and I think that shows how involved they are with us. I think we are not alone and the entire country is with us.

Harmanpreet Kaur | India captain: Yeah, I'm absolutely very proud. I don't have words how to express myself but feeling great. This time we have passed that line which we have been working hard for so many years. It's an amazing feeling. (what was the first thing you said to the coach?) Well, look, we spoke to each other that we have done this. We have been working so hard and both of us really proud of this team and we have that trust that each and every player can win any match, any time, in any situation. We made a few mistakes in this tournament but at the end of the day we have been learning from our mistakes and today was the day where we wanted to do everything in our favor in every situation. We were working hard. We kept telling ourselves to be there for the team and I think that really worked for us. (how did you refocus after three successive losses?) That day we had realized that we didn't execute ourselves really well especially the last five overs. We were late by two or three overs. We could have taken a bit more risk a few overs earlier but I think that really cost us and that's what we all discussed in the team room that we had to really be calculative because once you are out of the game it's very hard to come back, because I know it's a 50-over game, you have a lot of chances to keep coming back if you're making mistakes but the last five overs are something where you have to be very particular. You have to be very calculative. I think we all knew what we had to do. If we again come in, again in the same situation and today was the same thing, we wanted to finish this before 50th over and that exactly happened. (on Jemimah) Yeah, definitely. Jemimah is someone who always wants to do really well for the team because she is someone who is always very calculative and wants to take the responsibility and we always have that trust on her and today was a very special knock from her. We both of us had a very good time on the pitch. Whenever we were batting, we were just complimenting each other and calculating and she was doing all the calculations there for me and I think that was something she is always in the game and I really enjoy batting with her. Before I go, she always keeps telling me, we've got five runs, we've got two more balls left. So before I say anything, she is already saying it to me. So I think that shows how involved she is and I was just so amazed to see what she was thinking and how she was even pushing myself. So I think we should give a lot of credit to her for the way she kept her hold and keep batting for the team.

Healy 2/2: I think everyone contributed beautifully throughout this tournament. That's why it's probably really disappointing to be standing here right now. (how stretched were you today as a captain in the field?) Yeah, stretched. I think we created enough. We created pressure. We created opportunities. We just weren't able to capitalise them. You know, I'm at fault with that as well and I think that's something that Australia really prides themselves on. We kind of let ourselves down in that regard today. So that's probably why it's disappointing. I felt a little bit similar this time last year, sort of going out playing, you know, not the way that we wanted to play. So we'll learn from that. We'll grow. And I think our one day cricket will hopefully improve. (sum up your campaign) I think we played some unbelievable cricket and, you know, ultimately, like we've been saying the whole time, the semi-finals are a knockout game. If you don't quite turn up on that evening, you know, anyone's going to get you in the top four teams and they are top four teams for a reason. So I'm not so much proud of this World Cup. I'm really proud of our group and every single player's contribution. I think somebody came in every game and got a job done for us. So I think that's really cool. Yeah, that's probably why it stings a little bit more having this conversation with you right now, knowing that we are playing really good cricket but we just weren't able to get over that hurdle. (maybe some new faces and some retirements?) I won't be there! (talking about the next ODI World Cup) Oh, I think that's the beauty of this next cycle. We're going to see that unfold. Obviously, there's a T20 World Cup in the middle of next year which is going to be really exciting for our group as well but I think our one-day cricket is probably going to shift a little bit again. We'll learn from what we did wrong tonight. I'm sure we did so much right throughout this World Cup. We'll learn from that. We'll grow. We'll get better. And like I said, the opportunity for potentially some young players to get greater opportunities in this side is a really exciting thing for Australian cricket.

Alyssa Healy | Australia captain: I mean, good contest in the end, I think. Probably reflecting on that, we did that to ourselves a little bit. It's probably the first time that I've felt like we've done that. So, we probably didn't finish off with the bat, didn't bowl that great, and dropped all our chances in the field and still hung in there until the second-last over. So, I mean, we can take something out of that, but ultimately outdone in the end. (on the talk at the halfway mark) I thought, you know, we half done the job. I thought we probably left a few out there at the back end, fell away a little bit in the last ten. But in saying that, 330, still a good wicket. I thought if we could execute with the ball, hold on to our chances, we were well in the game. We just weren't able to capitalise on that. But it is what it is. I thought India played really well, held their nerve quite well throughout those innings and ultimately got themselves over the line. (on Litchfield) I mean, when you see players my age walk away from the game, it's kind of a weird experience for me to sort of stand there and watch the next generation go about it. We saw it out there with India bat in hand as well. But I thought that she was sensational today. It set us off, you know, really nicely in that front end and then was able to cash in, I thought was really crucial. So, you know, it's been fun to watch her unfold and I think, you know, the next four years leading into the next ODI World Cup is going to be really exciting to watch. I think there's going to be more and more opportunities for those guys moving forward. Like I said, the next four years of this cycle leading into the next World Cup, you know, you could see a little bit of change and I think that's going to be really exciting for our group and seeing these young players get more opportunities. (on Gardner) So I thought Ash had a sensational tournament.

Highest match aggregates in Women’s ODIs
781 - IND-W vs AUS-W, Delhi, 2025
679 - IND-W vs AUS-W, Mumbai DYP, 2025 WC
678 - ENG-W vs SA-W, Bristol, 2017 WC
661 - IND-W vs AUS-W, Visakhapatnam, 2025 WC
651 - IND-W vs SA-W, Colombo RPS, 2025

Jemimah Rodrigues today became the second batter to register a hundred in a WC knockout run-chase, after Nat-Sciver Brunt (148*) had done that in the 2022 final.

Longest winning streaks in Women’s WC
15 - Australia (2022-2025) - streak ended today
15 - Australia (1997-2000)
12 - Australia (1978-1982)
11 - New Zealand (1988-1993)
10 - England (1993-1997)
Australia’s previous defeat in the World Cup was also against India: in the 2017 semi-final in Derby.

AUS-W in WC semifinals
Matches: 6
Wins: 4
Defeats 2 (Both vs India)

India have qualified for the Women’s ODI WC final for the third time; they’d finished runners up in 2005 and 2017.

India’s 341/5 today is also the second-highest score in a Women’s ODI run-chase, after their own 369 all-out against the same team in Delhi last month.

India Women’s previous highest run-chase was 265 against the same opponent in Mackay in 2021.

300-plus targets chased down in Women’s ODIs
339 - IND-W vs AUS-W, Mumbai DYP, 2025 WC
331 - AUS-W vs IND-W, Visakhapatnam, 2025 WC
302 - SL-W vs SA-W, Potchefstroom, 2024

This is the first time a 300-plus total was gunned down in an ODI World Cup knockout - Men’s or Women’s. The previous highest had come in the Men’s CWC 2015 semifinal: 298 by NZ vs SA in Auckland.

>> We will have a new champion at the Women's ODI World Cup. For the first time ever, a Women's World Cup final will feature neither Australia nor England.