India register third consecutive defeat in ODI World Cup 2025, England qualify for semis

India’s hopes of regaining momentum in the ongoing Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 took another hit on Sunday, as they succumbed to their third consecutive defeat, this time against England at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.

After losses to South Africa and Australia, India came into this high-stakes clash following a much-needed week-long break, a window the team hoped would allow them to reset and regroup. However, despite the time to reflect and tweak their strategy, the outcome remained unchanged.

England, who won the toss and opted to bat first, were briefly rattled by the early loss of two wickets. But a composed partnership between Amy Jones and Heather Knight soon turned the tide. Jones played a solid knock of 56, while Knight, playing her milestone 300th international match, led from the front with a superb century, her third in ODIs. Courtesy of their effort, England posted a daunting task of 288 runs on the board.

India falter while



chasing

Chasing 289 runs, India were put under pressure, especially after Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol fell cheaply. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Mandhana took over the command and stitched a partnership of 125 runs to bring India back into the contest.

Harmanpreet played a valuable knock of 70 runs off 70 balls, but it was Smriti who stole the show in the middle. The southpaw looked in complete control before departing for 88 runs off 94 balls. Since she departed, Deepti seem to be in good touch, and she completed her half-century and with that, India seemed to be heading towards a comfortable win.

However, the game took a twist with India’s middle order completely flopping. The strike rate turned out to be concerning and in the end, India suffered a four-run defeat. This will hurt the team but they need to figure out things fast, or else the hosts can very well be ruled out of the competition before the semis. England, on the other hand, made it to the four.