ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 began with India recovering from a collapse to crush Sri Lanka in their World Cup opener on 30^TH September 2025 in Guwahati. The article will deep dive into India’s first win in the contest and what it means for the cricket crazy country, the turning points, and standout players.

Introduction

The much-awaited Women’s World Cup opener between the two host countries was a compelling contest, with both teams having their moments in the game.

The game was threatened by bad weather and was at risk of being a washout due to rain. Though the game was rain-affected, not much game time was lost, and it became a 47-over contest.

India displayed a strong all-round performance in their World Cup campaign opener with both ball and bat to effect a 59-run (DLS method) win.

India is one of the tournament favourites behind defending champions Australia, and sends a strong signal to all the other teams with a strong display of skills, which not only helped them recover from an initial collapse in their batting but also displayed excellent skill while defending their total to eventually comfortably win the contest. Their fielding too showed considerable improvement from their recent performances in the year.

Match Details – Women’s World Cup 2025

India women vs Sri Lanka women
Venue: Barsapara (ACA) Stadium, Guwahati.
Toss: Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl.
Conditions: Overcast conditions.
Revised Play Conditions: 47 Overs per side
Captain of India: Harmanpreet Kaur
Captain of Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu

With over cast conditions looming in the stadium, Sri Lanka won a very important toss as they would know exactly the target in a rain affected match.

India on the other hand had to not only post a big total but also had the weather against them. A competitive total was a minimum in this contest which would see the bowlers dominating due to the conditions.

India’s First Innings: Women’s World Cup 2025

With overcast conditions, India stumbled in the initial overs and lost quick wickets for Sri Lanka to seize the moment and take control of the game.

Sri Lanka Spinner, took fancy on the spin-friendly wicket at Guwahati and picked up 4 wickets for 46 runs in her 9 overs.

With the initial collapse, India was reeling at 124 for 6 wickets, and the failure of the top order had put tremendous pressure on the middle and lower middle order batters.

With the Sri Lankan tails up, pressure was put on the Indian batters who had to fight their way to make a come back and try post a respectable total to defend later.

When almost all hopes were down, Indian girls put up a brave show with a rescue act from Amanjot Kaur, Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana at the end to help India put a reasonably defendable total.

Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma put up a a vital 103‑run partnership for the 7th wicket helping India to recover from the initial collapse. Amanjot Kaur was the aggressor and scored 57 runs of just 56 ball. Veteran Deepti Sharma held up one side and also scored 53 off 53 deliveries playing the anchor role.

With this 103-run partnership, India went ultra aggressive in the final overs which saw Sneha Rana use the long handle and score a quickfire 28 runs in just 15 balls.

India posted 269 for 8 in 47 overs (after DLS adjustment), even with the two rain interruptions.

India’s Defence/ Bowling Performance and Sri Lanka’s Chase :Women’s World Cup 2025

India knew that the Sri Lanka captain, Chamari Athapaththu will be the crucial player in the chase in this Women’s World Cup encounter. While the Sri Lankan top order had a steady start, Indian bowlers kept the Sri Lankan skipper quiet for some time till she opened up and started scoring freely.

An impressive partnership of 52 runs, along with Harshita Samarawickrama (29), steadied Sri Lanka’s chase.

India’s chances improved after the wicket of the Sri Lankan captain, and the Indian spinners then put pressure on the other batters who followed, completely choking the run flow.

With the scoreboard pressure piling up, wickets started to tumble. Deepti Sharma, after her impressive batting, claimed 3 wickets, including the prized wicket of the Sri Lankan skipper. Sneh Rana and Shree Charani also took 2 wickets each

With a wicket each from Amanjot, Kranti Gaud, and Pratika Rawal, the chase became an uphill task.

Sri Lanka was all out for 211 in 45.4 overs — short of the DLS target of 271. India won by 59 runs (via DLS method).

Performers

Deepti Sharma: The Player of the Match

Deepti’s all-round play both with bat and ball made her the deserving player of the match.

Amanjot Kaur

Coming at a difficult stage of the game, Amanjot Kaur played a crucial role which was the difference between a score of under 200 and 270.

The Bowlers too kept the pressure and were backed up by good fielding.

Turning Point

Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma Partnership.
Wicket of The Sri Lankan skipper.

Summary

The first game will settle the nerves in the Indian dressing room especially with a good win against a good opposition. The team will take this confidence to the upcoming games in the tournament. The win was not easy and the girls showed a lot of composure and confidence under pressure in front of a demanding home support crowd. The win came when the top batters did not contribute much and that will be a great takeaway from this game. India however, would need to address their poor fielding.

For Sri Lanka, they will need to address their failing middle order and their fielding too needs drastic improvement before their next game at home.

India will meet Pakistan for their next game, which will have its own drama, as we saw in the recently concluded Men’s Asia Cup.

Players to Watch