Udaipur, Oct 13, 2025: The Indian women's team could not make good use of the strong start given by openers Smriti Mandhana (80) and Pratik Raval (75) and lost to Australia by three wickets in the Women's World Cup 2025 on Sunday, October 12.

Mandhana and Raval added 155 runs for the first wicket, taking India to 198 for 1 in 30 overs. But after that, India lost nine wickets for just 138 runs, including six wickets for 36 runs. The team was all out for 330 in 48.5 overs, failing to play the full 50 overs.

For Australia, captain Alyssa Healy batted brilliantly, scoring 142 runs off 107 balls. With help from Ellyse Perry (47 not out) and Ashleigh Gardner (45), Australia chased down the target, reaching 331/7 in 49 overs and winning the match with six balls to spare.

Reveals the Reason Behind India’s Loss

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur explained the main reason for India’s defeat. At the post-match presentation on Sunday, she said, “The way we started, we could have scored 30–40 more runs. We lost too many runs in the last six overs, and that cost us the match. I knew it was a good pitch to bat on, but we couldn’t finish well. The openers played brilliantly, and because of them, we managed to reach 300 runs.”

Harmanpreet also said that India’s lower-order batters, who had performed well in the first three matches, failed to do the same against Australia. She added, “We struggled in the last five overs. In the last three matches, we didn’t bat well in the middle overs, but our lower order took responsibility. Today, the first 40 overs were good. Now it’s important how we bounce back; these things happen.”

India’s Path to the Semi-Finals Gets Tough

India has now lost two matches in a row—against South Africa and Australia — making its path to the semi-finals difficult. The team has three matches left, against England, New Zealand, and Bangladesh. India must win at least two of these games to stay in the top four. The team is currently third on the points table with four points, having won two and lost two matches so far.