India need a record chase against ruthless Australia
India will have to chase a record 339 to beat Australia in the semifinal of the Women’s World Cup at Navi Mumbai.
A swashbuckling century from Phoebe Litchfield and a quickfire onslaught from Ashleigh Gardner put the Aussies in pole position to set up a meeting with South Africa in Sunday’s final.
Some dubious fielding from India and Australia doing Australia things - over 55 per cent of their runs coming in boundaries – means the hosts will face a mammoth task in their chase after losing the toss and being asked to bowl.
Returning captain Alyssa Healy chopped on with just five runs to her name and after being dropped in the third over. But that only opened the floodgates, both literally and figuratively. Rain stopped play with Litchfield at the crease and Ellyse Perry set to join her.
When play resumed, Litchfield and Perry wasted no time in setting the tone and reminding everyone why Australia are such strong contenders. Litchfield hammered 119 off 93 before being dismissed by Amanjot Kaur, whose line and length got the better of the batter's confidence.
Phoebe Litchfield brings up her third ODI ton in the #CWC25 semifinal against India 👏
— ICC (@ICC) October 30, 2025
Watch #INDvAUS LIVE in your region, broadcast details here ➡️ https://t.co/ULC9AuHQ4P pic.twitter.com/Yy4Ju8WDkO
Perry, though, continued the onslaught and it looked at one point as if Australia were on target for a record score, despite a few quick wickets. By the time she was dismissed for 77, it was time for the Gardener show.
She whacked 63 off 45 balls, as India’s fielders were left flailing and before being run out.
A flurry of late wickets meant that India dismissed Australia with a ball to spare. And while that might give them the slightest of moral victories, especially as the bulk of those wickets came from runouts, an arduous task awaits the hosts against the current World Champions.
Australia: Phoebe Litchfield, Alyssa Healy(C)(WK), Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt, Sophie Molineux.
India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur(C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh(WK), Radha Yadav, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur.
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