India beat Pakistan by 88 runs in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 on Sunday to go top of the points table after securing its second win in the tournament.
The two points for India were certainly hard earned on a day when the slow pitch at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo made things difficult.
Here are the major talking points of the game:
Failure to build partnerships
For the second match in a row, India’s middle-order was left to do the heavy lifting. Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal shared a 48-run stand, the highest of India’s innings, before the former was trapped leg-before. Thereafter, the Women in Blue were unable to forge meaningful partnerships often, while the slow wicket made it difficult for new batters to settle.
Harleen Deol and Jemimah Rodrigues added 45 runs for the fourth wicket and looked set to accelerate. But they fell off consecutive overs, forcing India to rebuild again. Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana’s 42-run stand came at a slow rate but helped stabilise the innings. However, they too were unable to accelerate and perished soon.
Richa Ghosh impact
With India scoring at an abysmal rate, the team’s decision to hold Richa Ghosh back for as long as possible paid off. Coming in at 8, the wicketkeeper-batter took all of five balls before smashing her first maximum over long on. Her 20-ball 35 included three fours and two sixes, striking at an impressive 175 to get India close to the 250-mark.
Sidra Amin’s lone battle
“She’s the main player of our team and hopefully she’ll continue her form in the next match too,” said Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana on her teammate Sidra Amin after the match. Amin scored a brave 86-run knock and fuelled her side’s chase as long as she could till she fell in 40th over. The Pakistan openers in Muneeba Ali and Sadaf Shamas were removed cheaply and it was left to the likes of Amin and others to bring the innings back on track. Natalia Parvaiz, who came in at No. 5, contributed 33 runs but others like Aliya Riaz and Fatima couldn’t enter double digits. “I think our batting line-up was good today, especially in the top five. They need to step up,” the Pakistan skipper added.
Kranti Goud’s spell
Another bright spot in India’s performance which had its dim moments was young pacer Kranti Goud. In fact, she had a decent impact even before she began her spell with the ball: she struck two boundaries with the confidence of a top-order batter to contribute crucial runs during India’s innings. With the ball, she bowled a miserly spell of 3/20 in her 10 overs, showing that she’s a reliable option for Harmanpreet Kaur especially if Renuka Singh isn’t being able to provide the scalps, although the experienced bowler conceded just 29 runs in her 10 overs.
Published on Oct 05, 2025
