 "The final group match of the 2025 ICC Women's World Cup between India and Bangladesh at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium ended up getting washed out with the Women in Blue on the verge of collecting a victory. PTI")
One finalist has already been decided for the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup, with South Africa trouncing England by 125 runs in the first semi-final in Guwahati on Wednesday to reach the final for the first time ever. Another one is set to be decided later on Thursday with defending champions Australia facing tournament co-hosts India at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.
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The upcoming showdown will be the fourth meeting between the two teams; Australia had defeated India 2-1 in a three-match ODI series that took place last month right before the World Cup.
As for their face-off in Visakhapatnam during the group stage of the mega event, the Women in Blue ended up on the losing side despite posting 330 on the board. The Aussies chased the target down with three wickets and an over to spare , smashing the record for the highest successful chase in women’s ODIs in the process.
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None of that, however, will matter on Thursday when the two sides meet in the semi-final. Australia might be the overwhelming favourites due to their unbeaten run in the ongoing tournament as well as the number of match winners present in the team.
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Funny things, however, can happen in a knockout game, especially in a high-pressure tournament like the World Cup. And India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will be hoping her team is able to turn the tide in their favour with a couple of solid partnerships and by collecting a few wickets in the powerplay.
Will the semi-final showdown between Australia and India be affected by rain?
There’s also the question of rain potentially playing spoilsport in the upcoming showdown, with a handful of games – a majority of them in Sri Lanka’s Colombo – ending in a washout. Quite a few more have been affected by weather including the virtual quarter-final between India and New Zealand at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, in which both innings were shortened due to rain and the White Ferns’ target had to eventually be revised using the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) Method.
The DY Patil, incidentally, will also play host to the last two matches of the ongoing tournament, including the second semi-final on Thursday, and thus begs the question whether the Australia-India face-off will also witness interruptions or end in a washout.
While Navi Mumbai was expected to receive rain on Thursday, the forecast appears a lot more promising for cricket fans. The forecast on Accuweather predicts a 25 per cent chance of rain for the satellite city neighbouring Mumbai on Thursday evening, which reduces to 15 per cent later in the evening.
In case rain does play spoilsport on Thursday, there’s a reserve day in place for the India-Australia semi-final, with action set to carry on on Friday from where it left off on the previous day.