{"id":21875,"date":"2025-10-30T01:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T01:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/30\/womens-world-cup-2025-semifinal-dream-dare-deliver-can-india-finally-conquer-australia-cricket-news\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T01:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T01:08:12","slug":"womens-world-cup-2025-semifinal-dream-dare-deliver-can-india-finally-conquer-australia-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/30\/womens-world-cup-2025-semifinal-dream-dare-deliver-can-india-finally-conquer-australia-cricket-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Women’s world cup 2025 semifinal Dream. Dare. Deliver. Can India Finally Conquer Australia? | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Last Updated:<\/span>

On paper, Australia are the clear favourites to reach the final. But on the field, the gap between the two sides is much narrower than most would believe.<\/h2>\n
\"India<\/p>\n

India face Australia in the crucial ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Nothing in life comes easy. To achieve something extraordinary, one must dream big and work even harder to turn those dreams into reality. That sentiment perfectly captures the spirit surrounding Thursday\u2019s ICC Women\u2019s ODI World Cup 2025 semifinal between India and Australia in Navi Mumbai.<\/p>\n

India, still in pursuit of their maiden ICC title, will take on the mighty Australians \u2013 serial winners in women\u2019s cricket \u2013 for a coveted place in the final.<\/p>\n

For India to realise their long-cherished dream, they must first believe that defeating Australia is possible \u2013 and then outwork them on the field. The task is daunting, but greatness in sport rarely comes easy. To be the best, one must conquer the best. And in women\u2019s cricket, there\u2019s no tougher opponent than Australia.<\/p>\n

India finished fourth in the league stage with three wins, three losses and one no-result, while Australia topped the table with six wins and one no-result.<\/p>\n

On paper, Australia are the clear favourites to reach the final. But cricket isn\u2019t played on paper. On the field, the gap between the two sides is much narrower than most would believe.<\/p>\n

If Australia boast the experience and class of Alyssa Healy, Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, and Ellyse Perry, India counter with Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, and Richa Ghosh. The contest may tilt 60\u201340 in Australia\u2019s favour, but certainly nothing less.<\/p>\n

Those who have followed women\u2019s cricket closely might hesitate to believe India can topple Australia, yet the Australians themselves are fully aware of the challenge that India presents. Their head coach, Shelley Nitschke, speaking at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, admitted that knockouts can swing either way and expects a \u2018toughly fought contest\u2019.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s good reason for that caution.<\/p>\n

In this year\u2019s World Cup, India were the only team to truly trouble Australia. When they met in Visakhapatnam on October 12, India posted 330 runs \u2013 the highest total ever scored against Australia in Women\u2019s ODI World Cup history. Though Australia eventually chased it down, India dominated the first half comprehensively. If they can replicate that batting effort and find sharper performances from their bowlers, the impossible may well become possible.<\/p>\n

Defeating Australia isn\u2019t unprecedented for India. They\u2019ve done it several times before \u2013 most recently in Mullanpur last month, where India handed Australia their first-ever defeat by more than 100 runs. That win was historic, and another one in a World Cup semifinal would be monumental but not entirely shocking.<\/p>\n

Sceptics may point out that bilateral wins differ from ICC knockout matches \u2013 but even in major tournaments, India have a strong record against Australia. They\u2019ve beaten them three times in World Cup knockouts, and notably, India remain the last team to defeat Australia in a Women\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n

That famous win came in Derby on July 20, 2017, when Harmanpreet Kaur\u2019s unbeaten 171 off 115 balls became a defining moment in Indian women\u2019s cricket. Eight years later, now as captain and on home soil, Harmanpreet will have another chance to script something equally special.<\/p>\n

Team News: India<\/strong><\/h2>\n

India will be without their star opener Pratika Rawal, who injured herself during the final league match against Bangladesh on October 26 and has been ruled out of the tournament. She has been replaced by Shafali Verma, who has 29 ODIs to her name and is a regular in India\u2019s T20I setup.<\/p>\n

Shafali, who has faced Australia several times across formats, will be eager to seize this opportunity. However, it will be a challenge \u2013 this will be her first 50-over match in a year, her last ODI appearance coming against New Zealand on October 29, 2024.<\/p>\n

Team News: Australia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Australia, meanwhile, are sweating over the fitness of their captain and leading run-scorer Alyssa Healy, who missed the last two games due to injury. In the two matches before that, she had scored consecutive centuries, and her availability could significantly influence the contest.<\/p>\n

Weather in Navi Mumbai<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rain could once again play spoilsport. The India vs Bangladesh league match at the same venue was affected by showers, and forecasts suggest heavy rain in the second half of Thursday.<\/p>\n

Wednesday remained dry, offering some optimism that the rain may stay away on match day. If not, the ICC has scheduled a reserve day on Friday to ensure a result.<\/p>\n

For India, Thursday\u2019s semifinal is more than just another game, it\u2019s a chance to turn years of near-misses into history. For Australia, it\u2019s another step toward reaffirming their dominance.<\/p>\n

Dream. Dare. Deliver. That\u2019s what it will take for India to conquer the best.<\/p>\n

Location :<\/span><\/p>\n

Navi Mumbai, India, India<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n
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October 30, 2025, 06:00 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

News<\/a> cricket<\/a> Women’s world cup 2025 semifinal Dream. Dare. Deliver. Can India Finally Conquer Australia?<\/span><\/div>\n
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Last Updated:October 30, 2025, 06:00 IST On paper, Australia are the clear favourites to reach the final. But on the field, the gap between the two sides is much narrower than most would believe. India face Australia in the crucial ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final Nothing in life comes easy. To achieve something extraordinary,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}