Udaipur, Oct 24, 2025: The Indian women's cricket team defeated New Zealand to reach the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup 2025. Team India achieved this win after three straight losses. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur gave credit to the team’s batters. However, she admitted feeling a bit nervous before the semi-finals. The captain revealed this after the match.

In this match, India batted first and scored 340 runs for three wickets in 49 overs. Due to rain, New Zealand got a revised target of 325 runs in 44 overs but failed to chase it. The New Zealand team could only score 271 runs for eight wickets in 44 overs.

Batters Praised

For India, openers Pratika Raval and Smriti Mandhana scored centuries and shared a 212-run stand for the first wicket. Pratika scored 122 runs off 134 balls with 13 fours and two sixes. Mandhana made 109 runs off 95 balls, hitting 10 fours and four sixes. After them, Jemimah Rodrigues remained unbeaten on 76 runs off 55 balls, hitting 11 fours.

Harmanpreet Kaur said, "We were getting good starts but couldn’t turn them into big scores. Pratika and Smriti deserve the credit for this. When they added 200 runs, we decided to send Jemimah at number three. The way she batted, everyone was expecting that from her."

Bowling Still a Worry

Team India has reached the semi-finals, but its bowling has been below expectations. Harmanpreet admitted that the bowlers haven’t performed well as a unit. She said, "We are doing well with the bat, but bowling is something we need to improve. Hopefully, we will do better as a team in the next match."