India may be unbeaten so far in the Women’s World Cup 2025, but their early performances show plenty of room for improvement. Two wins from two games look good on paper, but captain Harmanpreet Kaur has admitted that there are “a lot of areas” that need fixing. With South Africa, Australia, and England next on their schedule, three strong Women’s World Cup 2025 semifinal contenders, India must quickly iron out their issues to stay strong in the tournament.
Finding the Right Team Combination
India’s biggest question right now in the Women’s World Cup 2025 is about balance. In the first two matches, they went with five bowling options, including two allrounders. This worked well against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, thanks to the new-ball accuracy of Kranti Goud and the spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, and Shree Charani. But as the competition heats up and the team moves to flatter pitches like Visakhapatnam, a sixth bowling option might be necessary.
During the recent ODI series against Australia before the Women’s World Cup 2025, India had experimented with six bowlers, a move that paid off as they bowled out the world champions for 190. However, that setup happened only because Jemimah Rodrigues missed a game due to illness. Now that Rodrigues is fit and in good form, India face a challenge: how to include an extra bowler without breaking the team’s batting balance.
Allrounder Amanjot Kaur’s return could complicate matters further in the Women’s World Cup 2025. She missed the Pakistan match due to a niggle but has been training hard in the nets. Meanwhile, her replacement, Renuka Singh, impressed with tight bowling figures of 10-1-29-0. Dropping Renuka would be a tough call, even if Amanjot is fit again. India’s team management must find a way to use both players smartly as the Women’s World Cup 2025 moves forward.
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Trouble Against Left-Arm Spin
One major worry for India in the Women’s World Cup 2025 is their struggle against left-arm spinners. In the opening match, Sri Lanka’s Inoka Ranaweera bowled a stunning spell, dismissing Jemimah Rodrigues with a beauty and triggering a collapse that saw India stumble to 121 for 5. Against Pakistan, the story repeated itself when left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal slowed down India’s scoring rate and took the wicket of Pratika Rawal, who failed to pick an arm ball. Even Harmanpreet Kaur looked uncertain, often beaten by turn and bounce.
India’s next match against South Africa in the Women’s World Cup 2025 brings another challenge, Nonkululeko Mlaba, one of the best left-arm spinners in the world. Mlaba is coming off a match-winning spell of 4 for 40 against New Zealand, where her pace variations and angle caused a collapse. How India’s right-handers, Rodrigues, Deol, and Harmanpreet, handle Mlaba could very well decide the outcome of the game in Visakhapatnam. Solving this spin challenge will be crucial for India to keep their unbeaten run alive in the Women’s World Cup 2025.
Fielding Woes and Batting Collapses
India’s fielding has been surprisingly inconsistent in the Women’s World Cup 2025. Just three months ago, the team looked sharp in their T20I series win in England, catching cleanly, saving boundaries, and pulling off run-outs. But now, the same players seem out of rhythm. Simple catches have been dropped, and misfields have become frequent. What’s concerning is that these errors are coming from senior players like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur. So far, India has gotten away with it, but such mistakes could cost them dearly against stronger sides in the Women’s World Cup 2025.
Batting is another area of concern for India in the Women’s World Cup 2025. Their starts have been slow, with powerplay scores of 43 and 54 in their first two games. Smriti Mandhana, one of the team’s most experienced batters, has managed just 8 and 23 so far. She has the ability to score quickly, as shown by her recent century against Australia, but has struggled for rhythm. Her opening partner Pratika Rawal is consistent but plays at a slower strike rate of 83.65 compared to Mandhana’s 109.49.
At No. 3, Harleen Deol’s strike rate is even lower, sitting around 77 this year. When Rawal and Deol bat together, India’s run rate often drops sharply. For example, their partnership against Pakistan produced just 19 runs off 35 balls, with 27 dot deliveries. These slow starts have put extra pressure on the middle and lower order to rescue the innings, a pattern that cannot continue in the Women’s World Cup 2025 against top teams like Australia or England.
The most worrying trend has been India’s collapses. Against Sri Lanka, they slipped to 124 for 6, and against Pakistan, they were 159 for 5 before the lower order saved them. For India to succeed in the Women’s World Cup 2025, their senior batters, Mandhana, Harmanpreet, and Rodrigues, need to step up and deliver big runs when it matters most.
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source: ESPN
