On Tuesday, September 30, before the start of the opening match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, famous singer Shreya Ghoshal sang the national anthem of India in front of thousands of fans in attendance at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. India are currently taking on Sri Lanka in the tournament opener under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, aiming to win the coveted trophy for the first-time ever in women’s cricket history.
Just before the national anthem of India, at the toss time, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapathuthu called correctly and decided to send the Indian women’s cricket team in to bat first. The decision was taken by the Sri Lankans citing the rain forecast in the city of Guwahati since the chasing tends to become
much easier due to inclement weather at any cricket venue.
Sri Lankan bowlers responded well to their captain’s call of bowling first with Udeshika Prabhodani taking the big wicket of Smriti Mandhana in the first powerplay stage, dismissing her for just 8 off 10. When India reached 43/1 in 10 overs, the rains arrived at the Barsapara Stadium, stopping play with Pratika Rawal (18* off 31) and Harleen Deol (15* off 19) at the crease.
Below are the playing XIs of India and Sri Lanka for the opening match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025:
India: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Shree Charani
Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasuriya, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera
