Women’s World Cup 2025: Could India’s semi-final win redefine women’s cricket?

India and Australia have a history in World Cup finals.

There was Harmanpreet Kaur’s memorable 171 in the Derby in 2017 to secure India’s place in the final, and the near-miss in the T20 semi-final in Cape Town in 2023 in which the player’s bat stuck itself in the ground as she was decisively run out.

These two teams actually played their best group stage match of this tournament, with Alyssa Healy’s side chasing 331 on that occasion.

Thursday’s thrilling match was another example of India and Australia taking the game to new levels.

Phoebe Litchfield’s stunning 119 set up Australia’s 338, supported by half-centuries from Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner, as India were torn in the field.

At the halfway stage, it looked almost certain that Australia’s eight-year unbeaten run in the 50th World Cup final would continue.

However, it was Rodriguez’s brilliance – her speed between the wickets, her creativity in sweeping through the stumps, her precise ability to pick the gaps between fielders – that shook the usually placid Australia.

Healy and Tahlia McGrath created simple chances, and a team that had not lost a World Cup match since the Harmanpreet saga was stunned.

The batting was arguably of the highest quality women’s cricket has ever seen – but more important is what a World Cup win for India on home soil could mean.

They face South Africa in Sunday’s final, meaning a new winner will be crowned for the first time since 2000.

Both finalists are chasing history – but India’s win could push the women’s game to new heights in terms of exposure and investment.

“The pace at which women’s cricket is growing in India is unbelievable,” former Indian Premier League batsman Abhishek Jhunjhunwala told the BBC.

“Girls have started playing in the streets with boys, which is something you never used to see happen. They want to become Jemima Rodriguez or Dipti Sharma.

“It is a suitable profession now for women. If India continues to win the World Cup, it will change women’s cricket. The game is growing rapidly all over the world but on the business side, this will change radically.”

Across the stadiums in India, the transformation is evident in the sheer number of boys and men wearing T-shirts bearing the names Smriti Mandhana or Harmanpreet, and fans eager to watch the host nation’s matches.

The Women’s Super League, India’s T20 franchise competition, has begun a game-changing process with the salaries offered to players. But based on this exciting semi-final, that could be just the beginning.