On the Brink: India’s Fatal Flaw Surfaces as Home World Cup Dream Teeters

 

The hosts had victory within reach but their tournament now stands on the edge with two huge games ahead.

A bizarre thing happens at the Holkar Stadium in Indore every time it hosts an international match. A small part of the wall between the adjoining basketball court and the stadium is demolished to facilitate entrance to the north stand that houses the press box. Once the game (or series) is over, the wall is rebuilt.

This can be loosely used as an analogy to explain India’s situation at the Women’s World Cup 2025—the more the things have changed, the more they have remained the same.

 

A Recurring Nightmare

 

The pattern of failure is painfully inconsistent:

  • Against South Africa, the top and middle order failed, the lower order set a decent score, but the bowlers couldn’t defend it.
  • Against Australia, the top and middle order built a platform, but the lower order failed to contribute, and the bowlers crumbled under the pressure.

Now, chasing 289 against England, India had seven wickets in hand, a set batter in, 57 runs needed off 57 balls. Comfortable, right? Nine times out of ten, the chasing team would be backed to win in such a scenario. Sunday was the tenth occasion. India slipped from there to a third straight defeat at this World Cup.

It was Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur’s calculated assault that helped set the chase up. Harmanpreet played her most fluent innings this tournament as the senior duo chose their battles carefully. Their 125-run stand came off only 122 balls. Before Sunday, England were the most economical bowling unit in the middle overs; India went at 6.05 runs per over in this phase. The groundwork was laid perfectly.

 

The Fatal Rush of Blood

 

India had dropped a batter (Jemimah Rodrigues) for an extra bowler (Renuka Singh), making it imperative for one of the set batters to see the chase through. Mandhana took the onus upon herself by being patient and avoiding aerial shots—until the rush of blood in the 42nd over.

England’s Linsey Smith chose the around-the-wicket angle, tempting Mandhana with an open extra cover region. As Mandhana lunged, Smith got the ball to drift away a little, causing Mandhana to lose control of her stroke and hole out to long-off.

“Smriti’s wicket was a turning point for us, but we still had many batters,” Harmanpreet said after the game. But those other batters—Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Amanjot Kaur, and Sneh Rana—could not break the impending stranglehold.

England were unrelenting. They pressed both Smith and Sophie Ecclestone into service. India scored only 31 for 2 in the six left-arm spin overs in the third powerplay. The squeeze was truly on. Deepti Sharma, who had faced only 14 dots off her first 39 balls, faced 10 dots in the 18 balls immediately following Mandhana’s dismissal.

“I don’t know how things went the other way,” Harmanpreet admitted. “It is a bad feeling… But the last five-six overs didn’t go to plan. [It is] definitely a heartbreaking game.”

Smith and Ecclestone suffocated the batters by denying them room and bat-swing. India did not collapse; they just could not break loose.

 

No Time for Despair

 

It is not all doom and gloom for India. Their campaign is far from being over. They have two more games—against New Zealand and Bangladesh—at DY Patil, a venue they know well. They needn’t look beyond their latest victors for inspiration: England had lost each of their first three games at the 2022 World Cup and still qualified for the semi-final.

India now faces key questions: Do they really need that sixth proper bowler, or should they bring back the extra batter? More critically, can they hold their nerves in a tense finish after three such painful outings?

There are cracks in the wall. India needs to ensure they fix it before it all crashes down on yet another home World Cup.