India advanced to the ICC Women’s World Cup final with a record five-wicket win over defending champions Australia, driven by Jemimah Rodrigues’ unbeaten 127 and a 167-run stand with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, at the DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai on Friday.
Chasing 339, India completed the highest successful run chase in any ODI World Cup knockout, men’s or women’s. The previous best was New Zealand’s 298 against South Africa in the 2015 men’s semifinal.
Jemimah, who struck 127 off 134 deliveries, rebuilt the innings after India lost Shafali Verma (10) and Smriti Mandhana (24) early. Harmanpreet contributed 89 off 88 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes, before being dismissed with 113 needed. Jemimah then led the chase with support from Deepti Sharma (24) and Richa Ghosh (26 off 16 balls), finishing the game alongside Amanjot Kaur.
The winning moment saw Jemimah sprint to hug Amanjot, as teammates rushed in. It marked India’s first win in a Women’s ODI World Cup knockout against Australia, following losses in 2005, 2017 and 2022.
Australia had earlier posted 338, built around Phoebe Litchfield’s 119, Ellyse Perry’s 77 and Ashleigh Gardner’s 63. Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani took two wickets each, while Radha Yadav and Amanjot provided crucial breakthroughs.
India will play their third World Cup final after 2005 and 2017. It was also the team’s first successful chase of over 200 in Women’s ODI World Cup history.
