'Playing in front of home crowds is always special' - Harmanpreet Kaur eyeing World Cup glory at home

As India prepares to host the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, it is also nearing an important milestone. October 31 will mark 50 years since India made its officially recognised international debut in women’s cricket, playing the West Indies in a Test in Bangalore.

In a moment of symmetry, the World Cup final will take place 49 years on from the day that Test match ended. The Albees is recognised as a pioneering women’s cricket club in India, having been founded in 1969 in Mumbai.

For a time, it stood

alone, before the enterprising Mahendra Kumar Sharma took to his autorickshaw to announce to Lucknow that ‘there will be a cricket match by girls, do come’. After 200 people turned out to watch, Sharma was inspired to set up the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) in 1973, which governed women’s cricket in the country until it merged with the BCCI in 2006.

In April 1973, the first national level competition was held, but the WCAI’s establishment came without enough time for India to take part in the inaugural Women’s Cricket World Cup, which was held in England across June and July of that year. 

Instead, India’s international debut came at home in 1976 as Shubhangi Kulkarni took the first five-wicket haul for her country, while captain Shantha Rangaswamy top-scored with 74 in the first innings of a drawn Test with the Windies. India claimed a first-ever victory in the fourth Test, going on to draw the six-match series 1-1.

The year 1978 was a seminal one for India, with the very first day of January marking their ODI bow and their hosting debut of the Women’s Cricket World Cup. Contested between the hosts, defending champions England, Australia and New Zealand, India were unable to win a match, but they had arrived at the top table. 

Their first ODI victory came in the next World Cup in New Zealand in 1982, beating an International XI, before Fowzieh Khalili made 88 as India defeated England by 47 runs. India then missed the 1988 World Cup and took time to build up to be the perennial challengers they are today. 

A maiden semi-final appearance came in 1997 before the ceiling was broken in 2005 as India played in a final for the very first time, losing to a dominant Australia.  The final step of lifting the trophy still evades them in both the ODI and T20 formats, but the team continues to make history. 

India have recently returned from a summer in England with wins in both the ODI and T20 series, the latter a first of its kind in England.  For Mithali Raj, who was captain in both of India’s previous two Cricket World Cup final appearances, the positive mood among the team can only bode well. 

“I’m excited because World Cups always get those old memories back,” she said at a 50 Days to Go event held in Mumbai. “And in the last year, the team has been doing really well in this format.  

“But not just ODIs, in even the T20s, coming off a wonderful series in England, beating England in England is a huge ask, but they have done it. I can see when they were talking about the confidence and having a home World Cup, there is nothing better when the team is doing well.” 

Harmanpreet Kaur has taken over the mantle from Raj as leader and sits third behind her predecessor and Smriti Mandhana in the list of ODI run-makers for her country. She is now preparing for a fifth World Cup; only Raj has played at more. 

Kaur said at the Mumbai event:

“It will be the same as how I played my first ODI World Cup. I just want to go there and enjoy my cricket, which is more important for me because that is the way I started playing cricket because I enjoyed the sport a lot. But playing in front of home crowds is always special and hopefully this time we will give 100 per cent and try and break that barrier which all Indian fans and all of us as players are waiting for."