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Mandhana To Open; Rodrigues Or Harleen At 3? India's Ideal Batting Order For World Cup 2025

Aashay Chopade

Smriti Mandhana and Jemmimah Rodrigues (Source:@WomensCricZone/X.com)Smriti Mandhana and Jemmimah Rodrigues (Source:@WomensCricZone/X.com)

The Women's World Cup 2025 is all set to start on September 30, and with the tournament set to be played in India and Sri Lanka, the expectations are high from Harmanpreet Kaur and her girls. They have also played some good cricket in recent times, beating England at their home and would look to continue that good form in the marquee event.

The squad for the World Cup is also out, and India have dished out a balanced squad with depth in the batting and bowling departments. The biggest strength of the Indian team in the Women's World Cup is likely to be their long batting line-up and all-rounders. Thus, in this article, we will look at the ideal batting combination of India for the Women's World Cup 2025.

Openers - Smriti Mandhana And Pratika Rawal

Indian openers for the Women's World Cup 2025 would be Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal. Mandhana has been a long servant and is one of India's premier batters with the ability to take the game away from the opposition. She has been in brilliant form in ODIs in the last two years and has scored six centuries and five fifties in the last 24 matches.

Pratika Rawal's emergence at the top of the order since the home series against West Indies has given India stability. She has scored her runs at an average of over 54 and has formed a lethal opening pair with Smriti Mandhana. They have the second-best average of pairs over 1000 runs in women's ODIs, and a lot will depend on the starts they will provide.

Harmanpreet At Four; Richa, Amanjot As Finishers

At number 3, Harleen Deol has provided solidity in recent times, and her presence at 3 helps India use Rodrigues at number 5. It provides India more firepower in the middle order with Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain, coming in at four. 

Batting at four will allow Harmanpreet to spend more time in the middle and accelerate when the time comes. The experience of Harmanpreet and Rodrigues in the middle order is also likely to help India in pressure situations as both have stitched together some important stands in the past.

Jemimah Rodrigues At Number 5 In ODIs

Criterion
Data
Innings21
Runs822
Average41.10
Strike-Rate98.20
100s/50s1/4

Then there is Deepti Sharma, who can be used as a floater in the batting department. She can come in at six if wickets fall early or India need someone to stabilise the innings. Otherwise, there is an option of Richa Ghosh and Amaonjot Kaur, who can use their power-hitting skills and perform the role of finishers.

Deepti Sharma In ODIs - 2025

Criterion
Data
Innings7
Runs249
Average83
Strike-Rate102.89
100s/50s0/2

There is also Sneh Rana, who is a capable batter and is likely to bat at seven, providing India with great depth and balance in the XI. The good thing is that Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma all can bowl their 10 overs on most of the days which allows India to include all of them rather than a specialist bowler.

Therefore, this is an ideal batting combination for India in the Women's World Cup 2025. It will not only allow India to bat right down to number seven but will also keep India's bowling options intact.

India's Ideal Batting Combination For Women's World Cup 2025

Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana