India's World Cup campaign took another disappointing turn as the Women in Blue slumped to their third straight defeat in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025, losing to England despite a promising chase built on fine partnerships and top-order resilience.
The Indian team lost the match by 4 runs in Indore, thus jeopardizing their chances for the semifinals. After the defeat, experts and former India women captains Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra offered a candid reflection on India's performance and the familiar pattern of squandered momentum.
Mithali Raj noted that India's pursuit of England's total had plenty of positives, especially in the middle overs. "I think they were pretty good in the chase. At one point, the equation was under a run
a ball," she said, praising the partnerships between Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, followed by Smriti and Deepti Sharma.
However, she pointed out the turning point - "The crucial moment came when Smriti played that shot, followed by Deepti Sharma's wicket. Those two dismissals were so important because they had rebuilt the innings after losing early wickets in the Powerplay. "
Mithali added that the dismissal of set batters at key moments continued to hurt India's finishing ability. "When you're set, you have to be calculated. Yes, take risks, but pick the right balls and the right bowlers. After hitting a boundary off the first ball, Deepti tried to clear the longest boundary and found the fielder. That was disappointing. "
Anjum Chopra echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing India's consistency issues when chasing.
"It was virtually a run-a-ball equation. You have to understand how much hard work goes into getting your team into such a position. She got 80 against Australia and missed a hundred. Perhaps it's the pressure of chasing or the desire to finish quickly," Chopra said.
Chopra was particularly critical of Deepti's shot selection under pressure. "Why play an aerial shot on the biggest boundary against Sophie Ecclestone when it's not needed? It was unnecessary. Maybe it's just that extra effort players put on themselves under pressure," she concluded.
As India sit on 4th place with 4 points in five matches, they will have to win against New Zealand to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
