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India’s Greatest Chase: When the Women in Blue Dethroned the Queens of World Cricket
- rudrajeetlaskar
- Oct 31
- 2 min read
There are victories. And then there are moments that shift the axis of a sport. India’s record-breaking run chase against seven-time world champions Australia at the DY Patil Stadium was the latter — a night that felt less like a semifinal and more like a coronation of a new era in women’s cricket.
On a warm, electric evening in Navi Mumbai, India pulled off the highest successful chase in Women’s ODI World Cup history, rewriting narratives and silencing decades of doubt in one fearless, calculated pursuit.
The Chase That Changed Everything
Australia posted a daunting 338-plus target — the kind teams don't just defend, they expect to defend in knockout cricket. But India walked out not to survive, but to believe. Wickets fell early. Pressure mounted. The world tilted.
Then came calm — and fire.
Jemimah Rodrigues (127*) stitched together the innings of her life — a masterclass built on timing, maturity and quiet steel. Beside her, Harmanpreet Kaur (89) — the heartbeat of Indian women's cricket — absorbed the pressure and then blasted it away, one shot at a time. Their 160-plus stand didn’t just rebuild; it reshaped the chase. It shifted the crowd energy. It made Australia nervous — a sentence rarely written in world cricket.
India crossed the line with five wickets in hand. Not scrambling. Not surviving. Owning the chase. Owning the moment.
Why This Win is Bigger Than a Match
Defeating a dynasty: Australia — the greatest women's cricket team in history
On the biggest stage: A World Cup knockout, under lights, before a roaring home crowd
Breaking records & mental barriers: India didn’t sneak through — they dominated a chase once seen as impossible
New heroes rising: This generation isn't waiting — it's taking over
The Crowd, The Culture, The Shift
The DY Patil crowd — packed, loud, emotional — wasn’t just watching history. It was unlocking it. This wasn’t the polite applause women’s cricket once knew. This was drums, chants, flags — the sound of belief turning into movement. From schoolgirls waving the Tricolour to families chanting player names, this felt like the moment Indian women's cricket entered mainstream sporting emotion — not niche, not occasional, but national.
The Road to the Final
The job isn’t done. But momentum this real doesn’t come often — and teams who feel destiny often shape it. India didn’t just win a cricket match. They announced a new world order. The greatest chase isn’t a statistic. It’s a statement.
India can beat anyone. Anywhere. In any situation. And they did it with style, steel and history in their hands.
Match Scorecard
Australia — 338/7 (50 overs)
Phoebe Litchfield — 112 (104)
Beth Mooney — 68 (59)
Bowling (India):
Deepti Sharma — 2/56
Pooja Vastrakar — 2/62
India — 344/5 (48.2 overs)
Jemimah Rodrigues — 127* (132)
Harmanpreet Kaur — 89 (97)
Bowling (Australia):
Ashleigh Gardner — 2/58
India won by 5 wickets Player of the Match: Jemimah Rodrigues
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