India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has labelled her crew’s slim four-run defeat to England within the Women’s World Cup 2025 league stage encounter on Sunday as “heartbreaking,” pinpointing the dismissal of vice-captain Smriti Mandhana because the crucial turning level. Regardless of dominating giant elements of the formidable 289-run chase, the co-hosts and pre-tournament favourites as soon as once more failed to shut out a vital match, pushing their semi-final qualification hopes to the brink.
Harmanpreet Kaur analyse the pivotal second in India’s third straight loss
With a fluent Smriti Mandhana batting on 88 and India needing simply 56 runs off 54 balls with seven wickets in hand, a cushty victory appeared assured. Nevertheless, England’s sensible fightback, anchored by tight bowling within the loss of life overs, secured their fourth successive win and confirmed their semi-final berth alongside Australia and South Africa.
“Smriti’s wicket was the turning level for us. It’s a heartbreaking second,” Harmanpreet admitted on the post-match presentation. She highlighted the collective failure within the closing phases, including, “It’s a nasty feeling when you’ve gotten put a lot laborious work in however the final 5-6 overs didn’t go in response to the plan.”
The essential shift in momentum started when left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, bowling in opposition to the run of play, dismissed Mandhana. The elegant opener, who shared a vital 125-run partnership with Harmanpreet (70), succumbed to the stress, making an attempt to clear the boundary and falling sufferer to a catch within the deep. This breakthrough within the forty second over, with India simply over 50 runs away, proved deadly.
Even a composed half-century from all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who anchored the decrease middle-order, wasn’t sufficient to calm the nerves. England’s bowlers, particularly the spinners Linsey Smith and Sophie Ecclestone, executed their plans clinically. Ecclestone sealed the competition by dismissing Sharma within the closing overs, triggering a late-order collapse the place India misplaced wickets in fast succession below immense stress. The hosts finally fell agonisingly quick at 284/6.
Harmanpreet was fast to credit score the opposition’s tenacity. “Credit score to England. They didn’t lose hope, they saved bowling and getting wickets,” she conceded. For India, this defeat is the third in a row, following earlier losses to South Africa and Australia, all of which noticed the crew flounder from successful positions. Earlier, England’s whole of 288/8 was constructed round a powerful century (109) from captain Heather Knight in her three hundredth worldwide look.
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Should-win clashes outline India’s World Cup destiny
The persistent lack of ability to “cross the road,” because the Indian captain put it, now leaves the crew in a precarious place. The main target instantly shifts to their remaining two group matches, which at the moment are primarily knockout fixtures.
India now faces New Zealand in a high-stakes, must-win conflict in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, adopted by their closing group match in opposition to Bangladesh on October 26. Victories in each, mixed with a beneficial Web Run Charge state of affairs, are essential to maintain their semi-final hopes alive within the tightly contested match. If India wins each matches, they safe their spot. Nevertheless, any slip-up may see their World Cup marketing campaign finish prematurely.
“Subsequent recreation is essential,” Harmanpreet concluded, acknowledging the urgency of the state of affairs. The Indore heartbreak serves as a stark reminder of the psychological fortitude required in high-pressure World Cup encounters, a lesson India should quickly internalise in the event that they hope to progress to the knockout phases.
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This text was first revealed at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times firm.
