India will need to defy the odds when they face defending champions Australia in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 semi-final at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday. Though playing at home, Harmanpreet Kaur’s team has an uphill task against the only unbeaten side in the tournament.
The India vs Australia Women’s World Cup 2025 semi-final will start at 3:00 PM IST, with live telecast and streaming on all major platforms in India.
Australia, with a record-extending eighth Women’s ODI World Cup title on their minds, have been unbeatable throughout the tournament. India, however, will be hoping to utilize familiar conditions to the fullest in order to bring themselves a first-ever World Cup victory on home ground.
When the two sides clashed previously in the group stage, Australia overhauled a record score to beat world No. 3 India by three wickets in a nail-biting high-scoring game.
Australian captain Alyssa Healy, who excelled with a century in that match in Visakhapatnam, is still in doubt for the semifinal because of a calf strain that ruled her out of the last two matches. Even with her not being there, she still tops Australia’s run charts with 294 runs in four innings. Supports Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney have also contributed crucially with the bat.
For India, the big loss is that of Pratika Rawal’s injury. The opener twisted her ankle while in the field against Bangladesh and is out of the rest of the tournament. Rawal, aged 25, was India’s second-highest run-getter of the tournament, behind Smriti Mandhana alone.
Her replacement, Shafali Verma, comes back to the ODI unit after over a year. Amanjot Kaur, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Uma Chetry are alternative options that can open with Mandhana. Richa Ghosh’s inclusion also isn’t certain as the wicketkeeper-batter recovers from a finger injury.
Australia’s bowling has been in great nick with two of the tournament’s three top wicket-takers in Annabel Sutherland (15) and Alana King (13). For India, Deepti Sharma has been India’s best bowler, sharing the wicket charts with Sutherland.
When and where to watch Women’s World Cup live?
The India-W vs Australia-W will stream live on JioHotstar app and website and the live telecast will be available on Star Sports Network.
