For 48 overs of the chase in the Women’s World Cup fixture at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday (October 19, 2025), India had every reason to believe the two points belonged in its kitty. Chasing 289, Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur stitched a 125-run stand, after which Deepti Sharma joined forces with the former to set up what looked like a comfortable victory.

But somewhere, it all went horribly wrong.

Smriti and Deepti played tired aerial shots, aiming to maintain the high energy of the chase, to no avail.

India’s saviours against Sri Lanka — Amanjot Kar and Sneh Rana — could not replicate their heroics, with the Indian dugout and Indore stunned to silence in the matter of 12 deliveries.

Persistence pays off

Nat Sciver-Brunt and Co. never lost hope, and their persistence was rewarded with a narrow four-run victory and a spot in the semifinals alongside Australia and South Africa.

Match-ups didn’t work, the pitch didn’t produce prodigious turn, and the English line-up was tested to its limits, but this unit scrambled its way to a hard-fought win.

She might not be the captain anymore, but yet again, Heather Knight led from the front to set the platform for England with a scintillating hundred, her third in the format.

She combined with her successor Sciver-Brunt, the duo’s 113-run stand forming the backbone of the English essay. India was valiant in the field, taking some stellar catches in the circle.

Unfazed

But Knight remained unfazed and brought up her third ODI ton, her celebration more a sigh of relief. In the end, lax running was her undoing, her dismissal first drawing loud cheers and then a standing ovation from the partisan crowd.

Much like India’s would later, the lower middle-order folded and England ceded control. But luck favoured a brave English side as it snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.

It was the first time since 1982 that India had lost three matches in a row in the mega event.

The home side next meets New Zealand in a virtual quarterfinal on Thursday (October 16).