ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025: How can India Women qualify for the semi-finals after losing to England Women? Explained

India Women suffered a disappointing loss to England Women by four runs in the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

The Indian Women’s Cricket Team are hanging by a thread in the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025. The loss to England Women on Sunday was their third consecutive in the tournament and now they are under serious scrutiny. 

Following two back-to-back defeats against South Africa and Australia, it was expected that India would come up with a strong comeback against England Women. To some extent, they did that but failed to finish the game, which handed them their third loss of the tournament. 

Asked to bat first, England put India under pressure right from the start with openers Tammy Beaumont (22) and Amy Jones (56) adding 73 runs inside 16 overs. The start given by them was cashed perfectly by Heather Knight, who hit a magical century, scoring 109 runs in an important clash. 

She along with Nat Sciver-Brunt (38) added 113 runs for the third wicket as England ended with a total of 288/8. For India, Deepti Sharma shone with the ball as he bagged a four-wicket haul. 

India had a poor start with the bat as Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol (24) couldn’t do much. However, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (70) and her deputy Smriti Mandhana (88) joined hands and bailed the team out of trouble with their 125-run stand for the third wicket. 

Following their partnership, Deepti Sharma (50) also made a valuable contribution as India were right on the money in the chase. However, after that India succumbed to pressure as England pulled back the things brilliantly, winning by just four runs in the end. 

India Women’s wualification scenario for semi-finals of ICC Women’s World Cup 2025

With only one spot left in the semi-finals, things are now not so easy for the hosts. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side currently sits at fourth spot in the points table and will be taking on New Zealand and Bangladesh at the Dr. D.Y.Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai in their last two games.

India are still in contention and to make it to the semi-finals and if they want to do it without any hassle, they need to win their next two games. This means that they will have eight points under their belt and will be enough for them to reach the knockout stage. 

But if they face loss against New Zealand but win against Bangladesh, then they will be dependent on England, who should beat the White Ferns as it will help them finish with more wins than the Kiwis. 

In another scenario, if India defeat New Zealand and lose to Bangladesh, they would still want New Zealand to lose against England as this would make the route clear for them. But if the White Ferns beat England then things would be decided based on the Net Run Rate (NRR). 

If India lose both of their remaining games, they will be out of contention. 

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.