India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur, beaming with pride, emphasized that her team’s journey isn’t over yet after a spectacular five-wicket victory over reigning champions Australia in the Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final in Navi Mumbai.
This historic win saw India successfully chase down a record 339 runs—the highest ever in Women’s World Cup history—propelling them past the semi-final stage that had previously proven to be a hurdle. Kaur, who herself contributed a fluent 89 runs off 88 balls, played a pivotal role alongside centurion Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored an impressive 127 off 134 balls. Their combined 167-run partnership was crucial.
“Very proud. I don’t have words to express myself,” Harmanpreet stated at the post-match presentation. “It feels great — this time we have crossed that line which we have been working towards for so many years. One more game to go. Today, we all played well, happy with the result. But we have already started speaking about the next game — that shows how focused we are and how keen we are to win the World Cup.”
The Indian skipper highlighted the added significance of playing in a home World Cup. “Playing in a home World Cup is special, and we want to give back to our fans and families. One more game to go and we will give our best,” she added, her determination palpable.
Kaur was particularly full of praise for Rodrigues’ mature and composed innings. “She (Rodrigues) is someone who always wants to do well for the team — very calculative and wants to take responsibility. We always trust her,” Harmanpreet commented. “Whenever we were batting, we complemented each other. She was always calculating, telling me we got five runs, seven runs, two balls left — that shows how involved she was. Lots of credit to her for holding her nerve.”
She also reflected on lessons learned from an earlier narrow four-run defeat to England in the tournament. “That day we realized we didn’t execute well. We were late by two-three overs and could’ve taken risks earlier — that cost us. Today, we wanted to be calculative and finish it before the 50th over,” she explained, underlining the team’s improved strategy and execution.