Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Results: India beat New Zealand to secure the final semi-final spot

This was a must-win zone for both teams, but the bulk of the pressure was on India. As they search for their first Women’s World Cup title, they head into this tournament, on home soil, as favorites to win the title alongside Australia and England.

Comfortable wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan gave them the perfect start, but they then faltered, suffering back-to-back defeats to South Africa, Australia and England – and on all three occasions, they were left to rue what could have been.

They reduced South Africa to 81-5 and chased down 252 before Nadine de Klerk saw them off. They failed to defend 330 against Australia, having earlier lost 36-6 at the back end of their innings. Against England, they failed to chase down 289 despite needing a manageable 62 runs from the last 10 overs – they lost by four runs.

But they returned to winning ways with a ruthless display against New Zealand.

At the top of the order, Mandhana crossed 50 runs for the third successive innings while Rawal now has a hundred to go with a half-century against Australia. Both players showed good patience as they overcame the swing of Rosemary Mair and Jess Kerr early on on the power play before settling into a quiet partnership against a toothless New Zealand attack.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez seized her opportunity after being promoted up the pecking order, scoring freely around the floor to become the seventh Indian player to cross the 50-point mark in the tournament.

Combined, the Indian batsmen reached 42 runs and scored just under seven runs.

However, the same ruthlessness was not on display during New Zealand’s chase.

They dropped too many catches, gave up boundaries too easily, and never looked like New Zealand’s bowlers despite removing three of the top four in their 12 overs.

While the Jays’ attack came too late to put the hosts in danger of losing, India failed to produce the standout performance that would confirm their status as serious title contenders.