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Despite win against Pakistan, concerns linger for India women ahead of tougher tests

Prachi Rajan

India-W vs Pakistan-W in ICC Women's World Cup 2025 (Source: AFP)India-W vs Pakistan-W in ICC Women's World Cup 2025 (Source: AFP)

Harmanpreet Kaur-led India women thrashed arch-rival Pakistan by a platter of runs in the ongoing ICC Women's World Cup 2025. Winning the game by 88 runs, Team India extends their unbeaten head-to-head record by 12-0 against the Women in Green, on Sunday, October 5, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

The victory was powered by an incredible cameo of Richa Ghosh, whose unbeaten knock of 35 off 20 balls helped India women post a decent total of 247. Later, the trio of Kranti Goud, Sneh Rana, and Deepti Sharma halted Pakistan's runs for a paltry 159. Their pick of the batters, Sidra Amin, making 81, was the only one who seemed to have put up a fight. 

That being said, while Indian women managed to stand victorious in the game, there were several instances where the team looked underprepared, exposing their fine lingerings.  

A much-needed reality check of India women ahead of the biggest challenge so far 

While India remained unbeaten in their second clash of the tournament, persistent concerns in all three departments need to be checked soon. A very similar issue appeared in the match that was quite visible in their clash against the Sri Lankan women, too. The slow and sluggish start to the batting, followed by a struggling middle order, suggests that the batters were laboring too hard to find rhythm and form. 

Openers Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana failed to optimise the powerplay, accumulating only 48 runs for the 1st wicket by the 9th over. Moreover, Pratika, despite getting a decent start and reaching double figures, failed to accelerate he innings, giving her wicket in the next ball she scored a boundary. Looking to make room, she failed to read Sadia Iqbal's plan. 

On top of that, marred by a slow start, the batters coming in next, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Jemimah Rodrigues, struggled in the middle overs. Doel, however, managed to briefly anchor the innings with a brisk 45 off 65. Eventually, Richa Ghosh, coming in to bat at number 8, used her strokeplay to help India put up a challenging total.  

A look at the strike rates 

Batting Position
Batter
Runs Scored
Strike rate
OpenPratika Rawal31 off 3783.78
OpenSmriti Mandhana23 off 3271.88
No.3 Harleen Deol46 off 6570.77
No.4 Harmanpreet Kaur19 off 3455.88
No.5 Jemimah Rodrigues 32 off 3786.49
No.8 Richa Ghosh35 off 20175

Looking the strike rates of the above top 5 Indian batters and comparing them by Richa Ghosh, who bats at No.8, we can note a striking difference. While all of them got to a good start, none of them could translate it into a good innings. Meanwhile, Richa's innings, though brief, played a vital cog in putting a psychological impact on the Pakistan players, chasing a good total. 

Sloppy fielding & indisciplined bowling: More headache 

Moving ahead, India women's fielding was another issue, the management would like to take a look into. Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh dropped two crucial chances offered by Sidra Amin, Pakistan's pick of the batters. Notably, due to these, India was almost made to pay for those lapses. Sree Charani, playing her 10th international game, also had a tough outing, tainted by a misfielding and a dropped catch.  

Coming to the bowling department, okay, overall, it was fair. Especially, young Kranti Goud stepping up in a role, Indian women have been starved off since Jhulan Goswami's retirement. Reasonable pace combined with a swing in both ways makes her a star in the making. On top of that, the change in her length is a testament to her game awareness and hard work. 

However, India's premier pacer, Renuka Thakur, looked underprepared and was going all over the place. Six wides in her quota of 10 overs doesn't do justice to the kind of bowler she is. 

Finally, India's use of the Decision Review System (DRS) was far from what a team desires to have. 

It's Them vs Them for India 

Moving ahead in the ongoing quadrennial tournament, Harmanpreet and Co. are set to face the best of the teams, namely, Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand. So far, each of these teams have had their fair share of challenges but have eventually overcome them by dominating in the next clash. 

Having said that, the host nation, India, will be put into an area of concern if they do not recover from the battles within the squad. Nonetheless, as supporters, we hope to see some intense battles being fought and wish to see our Women in Blue clinching out some impressive performances.