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The Indian women's cricket team chased down a mammoth 338 against seven-time champions Australia in the ICC Women's World Cup semifinal at the DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai, on Thursday. This marked the highest-ever successful run chase in the World Cup history - men’s or women’s. Jemimah Rodrigues’s unbeaten 127 and her 167-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored 89 off 88 balls before being dismissed by Annabel Sutherland, helped India beat Australia by five wickets with nine balls to spare. India will now meet South Africa in the final on November 2 at the same venue. This is the first time a 300-plus total has been chased down in an ODI World Cup knockout - men’s or women’s. The previous highest came in the 2015 Men’s World Cup semifinal, when New Zealand chased down 298 against South Africa in Auckland. Earlier, Australia captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and chose to bat first. Though they lost Healy early, Phoebe Litchfield went hammer and tongs as she smashed 119 off 93 balls. Ellyse Perry (77) and Ashleigh Gardner (63) scored half-centuries to help Australia post 338 all out. Among the Indian bowlers, Shree Charani and Deepti Sharma picked up two wickets apiece, while Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, and Kranti Gaud claimed one wicket each. While the partnership between Jemimah and Harmanpreet laid the foundation of India’s innings, the former remained composed throughout, taking calculated risks and playing her shots wisely. After Deepti (24 off 17 balls) and Richa Ghosh (26 off 16 balls) provided much-needed impetus with quick-fire cameos, it was Amanjot who hit the winning run off Sophie Molineux. The victory also registered India’s highest successful chase in ODIs. Their previous best - a 264-run chase - also came against Australia in Mackay in 2021. This was also the highest total ever recorded in the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup. The match also witnessed the second-highest aggregate total in women’s ODI history, with India and Australia combining for 689 runs - only behind their record aggregate of 781, scored earlier in this World Cup in Delhi. By beating Australia, India also ended their 15-match winning streak in the Women’s World Cup - the longest ever, dating back to 2022.
