🏏ICC Women's World Cup 2025: Australia W vs India W, 2nd Semi-Final🏏 - Page 34

🏏India Women vs New Zealand Women, 24th Match🏏

The pressure, and criticism, is mounting on World Cup 2025 hosts. After three successive losses from winning positions, two scrappy wins, and just four points in five games, India's campaign is beginning to see the cracks - read tactical deficiencies - that had been papered over by their dominant pre-tournament form.

What was once a "settled line-up" is now being "evaluated on a match-by-match basis".

Tinkering combinations this deep into the tournament may be far from ideal, but with their semis qualification on the line India don't have much choice.

Time and games - they're running out of both. Up against New Zealand on Thursday at the DY Patil Stadium, now they also have rain to account for.

For New Zealand, the stakes are even higher. They have arguably been the unluckiest, with rain washing out two games - and potentially two wins - that will prove decisive in a tie-breaker.

As things stand, the game against the hosts is more a must-win for them than the other way around because India's victory will close out the semis race early.

When: Thursday, October 23 at 3:00 PM IST

Where: DY Patil Cricket Stadium, Navi Mumbai

What to expect: A bit of an evening shower has worked its way into the forecast for the remainder of the week, including India's two match days in Navi Mumbai. The pitch had been watered, rolled over, and then covered under layers of covers in anticipation of inclement weather. The conditions are among the best to bat on. A high-scoring game should be the cards, weather permitting.

Head-to-Head: New Zealand lead 34-22 overall in the 57-game rivalry with one match tied. In World Cup history, too, New Zealand have a 10-2 edge. India have a 12-10 record at home, two of those wins coming in the IWC 2022-25 series a year ago.

Frustrated by rain in Colombo, New Zealand arrived in Navi Mumbai to better weather and a batting paradise. There was some unseasonal rain, but at least it hasn't hindered the extended sessions in nets they've spent trying to shake off the rust of an inactive week. Sophie Devine & Co. are aware they're the underdogs going into the fixture, with also a packed "sea of blue" not making their task any easier. What they can control, their captain insisted, is their cricket. And for that, the batting and bowling units need to fire in unison.

A loss, or even washout, may not be as devastating for India but if they're harbouring hopes of competing - not just appearing - in the semis, now is their time to find their rhythm. India can no longer rely on individual brilliance to pull them through at the business end of the competition. A statement performance here would not only ease their road to the semis, but also help shift the narrative - from a team with reactive tactics to the one that's peaking at the right time.

Team News

India: Dropped for the last fixture, Jemimah Rodrigues had multiple stints in both the open and training nets. Renuka Thakur, on the other hand, did not bowl at all in India's only practice session in the city ahead of the game. It's likely India will revert to the five-bowler combination from before the England game, swapping in Rodrigues for Thakur.

Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani

New Zealand: Given the stakes, New Zealand will back their strongest XI. No changes anticipated from the visitors.

Probable XI: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (C), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (wk), Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson

Did you know?

- Smriti Mandhana needs two more to become the highest six-hitter in any calendar year; a record that currently belongs to Lizelle Lee (28 in 2017)

- Suzie Bates is 75 runs away from becoming just the second woman in 6000-run club in WODIs, after Mithali Raj (7805), and 68 away from becoming the second-highest run-getter in the format, overtaking Charlotte Edwards' tally of 5992

- Just 12 away from 1000 ODI runs, Pratika Rawal could become the joint-fastest to the milestone on Thursday

What they said:

"It was one of the tough calls. Given the circumstances, given the conditions in Indore, we opted for the sixth bowling option. That's why one of the batters had to sit out just looking at that combination. She took it really well - that's what Jemi is all about. She's fantastic within the group, a superb role model for everyone in the team. She took it really nicely and very sportingly. I appreciate that. But, we've decided to go on a match-by-match basis. The conditions in Indore were different. The conditions here in Navi Mumbai are different. We'll have a good discussion in the evening, and we'll take a fair call on what we want to do. Hopefully, or maybe, the combination will be different." - Amol Muzumdar, India head coach, on call to drop Rodrigues in Indore and the possible return against New Zealand

"I'm not surprised, to be honest. I expect there to be rain everywhere we go at the moment, but you can't control the weather. We'll deal with it if it comes. There's no point worrying about it. I mean, yeah, I'm sure most teams have got about seven different weather apps and the rain radar. You're trying to talk to the ground staff and try and get as much insight as you can, but until it actually falls down and the umpires call you off, we're just focused on what we want to do. Hopefully, getting a full hundred overs of cricket would be really nice." - Sophie Devine, New Zealand captain, on the unseasonal rain in Navi Mumbai threatening their must-win game

"India will still believe they are the main character. They can beat New Zealand, Bangladesh, Australia in a semi-final and put years of historical underchievement to bed, by winning the final. This is the story this team wants to tell. " -- That, of course, will be the plan. But New Zealand might not cave in to those ideas that easily...

India opted to abandon their five-bowlers-only strategy and included Renuka Singh for the England game, which came at Jemimah Rodrigues' expense. India head coach Amol Muzumdar has since quipped that that was one of their toughest decisions, but they might have to make a very similar call today as well.

Speaking of NZ, this campaign has been a little unusual. They began with two defeats, broke that run against Bangladesh and were then subjected to two washouts. And while that has been frustrating for Sophie Devine and her side, she seemed in high spirits on the eve of this make-or-break game. That confidence could also be down to Rosemary Mair being fit and firing again.

"So far, it's only the support staff of the Indian team out there. Bowling on the side wicket, inspecting the pitch. A lot of off-spin bowling for Suzie Bates on the side strip as well," informs Purnima. "Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair and Eden Carson have marked their run-ups meanwhile. Jemi and Smriti out in the middle now. Taking throwdowns by the side net," she adds.

As for New Zealand, the weather has been their biggest opponent. Their last two matches, against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, were washed out in Colombo. Before that, they bounced back from two early losses with a commanding win over Bangladesh only for rain to halt their momentum. Now, facing India and England in their final two fixtures, the challenge couldn’t be tougher. Having not played a full game in nearly two weeks, will rustiness be a factor? We’ll soon find out. Toss and team news coming up next!

India’s campaign has been a rollercoaster. They began brightly with two convincing wins but have since slipped to three consecutive defeats. The frustrating part for them is that all three losses were close contests, games that could easily have gone their way had they held their nerve in the key moments. The most recent defeat to England would have stung deeply; they had the chase under control before letting it slip in the final five overs. The big question today, have they recovered from that heartbreak? They’ll have to, because another loss would put them in a very tricky position.

"Early hellos from the DY Patil Stadium. Not a lot of activity in the ground yet. The New Zealand team bus entered the stadium just as I did, and funnily enough sun has started playing hide & seek since. Been a very bright, sunny and humid morning up until now," greets Purnima from the ground.