Last Updated on 6 months ago by Charbel Coorey
The India Women’s team suffered another heartbreaking loss in a nail-biter against England Women in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, leaving fans visibly frustrated on social media. Despite being in control for most of the chase, the hosts fell short by just four runs in Indore on Sunday (October 19), a defeat that now leaves their semi-final hopes hanging by a thread.
England, opting to bat first, posted a formidable 288/8 in 50 overs, powered by captain Heather Knight’s brilliant 109 off 91 balls, laced with 15 boundaries and a six. In reply, India looked well on course for a record chase with Smriti Mandhana (88), skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (70), and Deepti Sharma (50) guiding the innings with authority.
At one stage, India needed just 56 runs off the final nine overs with seven wickets in hand on a batting-friendly pitch, but a late collapse saw them stutter to 284/6 at the end of their 50 overs. The narrow defeat has placed India in a precarious position, a must-win scenario against New Zealand Women in their next league game to stay alive in the tournament.
This marks India’s third straight close loss after strong starts, following similar heartbreaks against South Africa and Australia. Fans took to social media to vent their disappointment, criticising the team for losing composure in crunch moments despite getting everything they ever demanded, home conditions, crowd support, and form at the start of the tournament.
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Earlier, the Women in Blue had lost to Australia in Vizag, with the Southern Stars completing the highest-ever chase in ODI history, thanks to them scaling the peak of 331 runs in the second innings. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side then also lost to South Africa, and critics have raised concerns regarding their poor performances against strong opponents in this multi-nation tournament.
India face New Zealand and Bangladesh in their final two group games. Failure to reach the semi-finals in a home World Cup would be a huge disappointment.
