World Cup dream in danger: Decoding critical issues with potential of ending India's campaign

Smriti Mandhana (Source: AFP Photos)

The home World Cup is turning out to be quite tricky for Harmanpreet Kaur and her girls. They won the initial two matches against lower-ranked teams but have not been able to cross the line against South Africa, Australia and England. Now, they face a real danger of not making it to the semis, and need to come out with better plans and execution in the remaining two games against New Zealand and Bangladesh.

Therefore, in this article, we will look at the issues they need to sort out, if they want to keep their World Cup hopes alive.

Extra pressure on spinners; pacers need to take more responsibility

India's strength is their spin bowling and they have played three spinners - Shree Charani, Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana in this World Cup. All three of them have done decently, but the problem has been the performance of pacers against big teams. After bowling quite well against Pakistan, Kranti Goud has managed just one wicket in three matches and has leaked runs, which did not allow captain Harmanpreet Kaur to complete her quota of 10 overs.

Wickets by Indian bowlers in Women's World Cup 2025

Amanjot Kaur, the seam-bowling all-rounder has also struggled with the ball, picking just four wickets in four games at an economy of 6.89. Even the experienced Renuka Singh has looked completely ineffective and has not bagged a single wicket in the two matches she has played. It has put extra pressure on the spinners to deliver and in the game against England, the spinners bowled the last seven overs, which shows how ineffective pacers have been. Thus, to give Harmanpreet more confidence, the pacers need to come up with better show in the Powerplay and other phases and make those inroads to keep opposition under check.

Selection mistakes: Put some trust on Jemimah Rodrigues

India dropped Jemimah Rodrigues for the game against England, a crunch World Cup encounter to bring in Renuka Singh into the XI. The move to include an extra bowler seemed to be a good one in terms of balance in the XI, but dropping Rodrigues proved disastrous in the run-chase. The right-handed batter has not been in good form in this World Cup but still played a handy cameo against Australia, and is a batter who has all the gears in her arsenal.

She also has performed under pressure in the past and has the experience of playing all over the globe, which could have been handy against a big team like England. Thus, India can afford to trust Jemimah Rodrigues more and play her over Harleen Deol who has scored runs but the intent has been missing. Also, bringing Rodrigues at 3 would give her more time to get into the game and she can make bigger impact if she bats long compared to what Harleen has done so far. Rodrigues also started her career as a top-order batter and can be a match-winner for India.

Jemimah Rodrigues vs Harleen Deol: ODI stats in 2025

Also, her strike-rate is over 100 in ODIs in 2025 compared to Harleen Deol's 77 and Rodrigues also has a better average. Thus, with semifinal qualification at stakes, India would be better equipped by having Rodrigues in their ranks.

Losing from winning position; need to be more clinical

The Indian team was in a strong position in each of the three games they lost in this World Cup. However, when the opposition put them under bit of pressure, they crumbled. South Africa were 142-6 while chasing 252, but once they started counter-attacking, Indian bowlers looked short of ideas and ended up handing the match to the Proteas women. Against Australia too, India looked set for the target of 350, and had the chance to put Kangaroos under real pressure. However, the lower order crumbled and allowed Australia a sniff, and it cost India heavily.

In the last match against England too, India were in control of chase till 45th over. They needed just 36 runs in 30 balls with six wickets in hand, but they crumbled under pressure and ended up losing the match. Thus, to qualify for the semis and go the full distance, India need to shut the doors on the face of the opponents once they move ahead of the race and not allow the other team to get back into the match.

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