Rain, a habitual disruptor at the R. Premadasa Stadium, was on Tuesday an unusual spectator, watching Pakistan get overpowered by a dominant South Africa in their Women’s ODI World Cup clash.

What began as a daunting 306-run chase in 40 overs was quickly derailed by frequent wickets and stop-start showers. The struggles began early, with Muneeba Ali falling in the second over. From there, South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp took charge, denting the line-up with a double-strike in an over that included the key wicket of Sidra Amin.

The impatient rain kept slicing into Pakistan’s already dwindling chances. By the final resumption, 234 runs were needed off 20 overs— a Herculean task, but it was the case even before the chase began.

Under pressure and unable to build momentum, Fatima Sana’s side crumbled, handing the Proteas a massive 150-run win — a result that also ended Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the knockouts.

Earlier, South Africa came out with aggressive intent despite an early setback.

Skipper Laura Wolvaardt led the way. The opener began with elegance and timing through the off-side before growing increasingly dominant. She brought up her fifty with a crisp drive through cover, then stepped out on a regular basis, rotating the strike effortlessly, and dictating the tempo.

Crucial partnerships with Sune Luus and Kapp played a key role in her growing confidence at the crease. With Luus, she added 118 runs for the second wicket, steadying the innings and dulling Pakistan’s early edge.

Luus settled in, picked her gaps, and brought up a well-made 61 before falling to Nashra Sandhu. Wolvaardt then joined Kapp for a 64-run stand, inching towards a deserved century, before falling prey to Sandhu.

The experienced Kapp kept the runs flowing, notching up a composed yet quick half-century.

With the explosive Nadine de Klerk, the two smashed 52 runs off 20 balls to push South Africa comfortably past the 300-run mark, which proved far too much for Pakistan.

The scores: South Africa 312/9 in 40 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 90, Sune Luus 61, Marizanne Kapp 68 n.o., Nadine de Klerk 41, Sadia Iqbal 3/63, Nashra Sandhu 3/45) bt Pakistan 83/7 in 20 overs (Kapp 3/20). DLS target: 234 in 20 overs.

Toss: Pakistan. PoM: Kapp.

It was a tale of two halves, but with a predictable ending for Australia as it blew past Bangladesh in a 10-wicket win at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Thursday, thereby becoming the first side to seal a semifinal spot in the Women’s ODI World Cup.

Errant lines, generous extras, and an uncharacteristically sloppy fielding helped Bangladesh huff and puff its way to 198 for nine, with Phoebe Litchfield and Alyssa Healy featuring in the gaffes reel. But the pair compensated in the best way possible, nullifying a usually wily Bangladeshi bowling unit — sans Marufa Akter and Nahida Akter — with expert precision.

After a slow start, Phoebe picked two boundaries off Fariha Trisna to set the course for the rest of the innings. Healy soon joined the party and the two helped Australia put up 78 runs by the end of the PowerPlay and enter triple figures in 13.5 overs — its quickest this campaign.

The end was quick for Bangladesh, thanks to exhibition hitting from the duo — Healy registering her second consecutive ton this tournament while Litchfield ticked off her eighth ODI half-century along the way.

Earlier, Bangladesh opted to bat, placing faith once again in its ability to mount a stubborn defence.

Missed opportunities

Litchfield gave Rubya Haider an early reprieve, while Healy’s spill denied Darcie Brown an early celebration. Despite Fargana Hoque falling in the ninth over, Bangladesh’s calculated approach helped it see off the PowerPlay with the scoreboard reading 37 for one — its best showing in the tournament.

Rubya chose to live life on the edge, and luck favoured her, with the edges running away to the fence. She fell short of a deserved fifty, holing out to Tahlia McGrath at mid-on. Sharmin soon followed suit similarly.

Alana King, managing close to 4.5 degrees of turn, claimed the prized scalps of Nigar Sultana and Shorna Akter, the latter failing to replicate her pyrotechnics from the previous game. Sobhana Mostary fought hard with a half-century to drag Bangladesh to a workable score, but it was always going to be a cakewalk for the dominant Aussies, who sealed the win with 25.1 overs to spare.

The scores: Bangladesh 198/9 in 50 overs (Sobhana Mostary 66 n.o., Rubya Haider 44) lost to Australia 202/0 in 24.5 overs (Alyssa Healy 113 n.o., Phoebe Litchfield 84 n.o.).

Toss: Bangladesh; PoM: Alana King.

South Africa, fresh from the morale-boosting win against India, will look to build on the momentum when it takes on a persistent Bangladesh in the Women’s ODI World Cup at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Monday.

The Proteas, who were humiliated by a 10-wicket thrashing by England in their opening match, have bounced back in sublime fashion, with a dominant victory against New Zealand followed by a nail-biter triumph over India on Thursday.

While Richa Ghosh made a mockery of the versatile South African bowling order, they still managed to strike when it mattered. Proteas’ batting muscle makes them automatic favourites against Bangladesh, a side that’s not managed to roar as loudly with the bat as it has with the ball.

Medium pacer Marufa Akter has made inroads with the new ball, while left-arm spinner Nahida Akter and the legspin duo of Fahima Khatun and Rabeya Khan have largely kept a tight leash on the opposition.

That said, Marufa’s lack of endurance to sustain the bite she manages early is a concern and something South Africa will be eager to exploit. The Proteas’ famed top-order — Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp — will hope to have a good game, with their inconsistencies often landing the side in a pickle.

It remains to be seen whether seam-bowling all-rounder Annerie Dercksen finally gets a game in this campaign.

Bangladesh will want to see better returns from Nigar Sultana Joty, who has had a rather quiet run in the showpiece. Performances from Shorna Akter, Rubya Haider and Sobhana Mostary have been encouraging. Partnerships are the need of the hour for the side, against a lethal Protean attack led by Kapp and Nonkululeko Mlaba.

With a target of 254, the R. Premadasa Stadium, hosting its largest crowd of the tournament, erupted in chants of “Chamari, Chamari” placing their hopes squarely on the shoulders of national talisman Chamari Athapaththu to deliver a famous win against England and secure Sri Lanka’s first victory of the campaign.

Alas, it was not to be.

Sophie Ecclestone spun a web around Sri Lanka, plugging the run flow and taking wickets, including the prized scalp of the captain, to help England stay unbeaten with an 89-run win.

There was early drama with Chamari going down with a cramp and being stretchered off, drawing a collective gasp from those in attendance. While Vishmi Gunaratne fell cheaply, Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama’s 58-run stand offered hope.

Ecclestone was introduced in the 19th over and paired up with Charlie Dean to wreak havoc. Sri Lanka lost its four main batters — including Chamari, who returned in a bid to carry the innings to the end — for just 21 runs, all to Ecclestone. A sulking Chamari could only watch helplessly as the chase dragged out to its disappointing end.

Opting to field after a morning laced with intermittent drizzles, Chamari played to her team’s strength — its bowling. While the bowlers largely maintained neat lines and lengths, the ground fielding left much to be desired.

With the openers sent back in the PowerPlay, a steady 60-run stand between Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt frayed the nerves of the Lankans. Sciver-Brunt led the charge, aided by a reprieve from Udeshika Prabodani at midwicket with just three runs to her name.

It proved costly as the all-rounder registered her fifth ODI World Cup ton, the most in the tournament’s history. She stitched small partnerships along the way to carry England to a score, which proved more than sufficient.

The cradle celebration of Sciver-Brunt, dedicated to her baby Theo, with partner and England great Katherine Sciver-Brunt in the stands, was the icing on top.

The scores: England 253/9 in 50 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 117, Tammy Beaumont 32, Inoka Ranaweera 3/33) bt Sri Lanka 164 in 45.4 overs (Hasini Perera 35, Harshitha Samarawickrama 33, Sophie Ecclestone 4/17). Toss: Sri Lanka; PoM: Sciver-Brunt.

The R. Premadasa Stadium here has been a panacea for the overdosing-on-runs high that ODI cricket has found itself in, with weather-dictated slow burners in the Women’s ODI World Cup.

Technically adept sides like Australia and India have found the going tough with strips covered to guard against the rain making an already spin-favouring surface lower and slower.

England — with two wins in two games in the tournament — will not take Sri Lanka, despite all its coherence problems, lightly, as the sides clash in a Women’s ODI World Cup fixture here on Saturday.

In 20 meetings in the format, two matches didn’t yield a result, and Sri Lanka stunned England only once, in the 2013 World Cup in India — a one-wicket triumph that Chamari Athapaththu’s side will do well to revisit in a tournament packed with comebacks.

England opener Tammy Beaumont was candid about the dearth of left-handers in the batting order, with only Linsey Smith representing the southpaws and therefore being given extra help with technique in the nets.

But what England will be wary about is Sri Lanka’s left-arm bowlers, who have a dangerous ability to drop pace on the ball, making batting on surfaces like these even harder. In the nets, the side trained with young boys, potentially from the under-14 academy, to simulate the action and pace of some of Sri Lanka’s mainstays.

With its ‘home’ World Cup fixture against Australia washed out a few days ago, Sri Lanka will be raring to go as it seeks its first win in the tournament.

The side had an extended fielding session, working on high catches against the floodlights and their reaction times inside the circle.

Coach Rumesh Ratnayake revealed ahead of the fixture that there was palpable excitement among the team. A short spell spent cuddling the resident dogs at the venue ahead of their training block was a visible blessing in disguise.

Guwahati New Zealand opened its account in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 edition with a facile 100-run win against Bangladesh at the Barsapara Stadium on Friday (October 10, 2025).

Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday added 112 for the fourth wicket before pacers Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu and picked up three wickets apiece to dismantle the opponent’s chase.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana didn’t mind losing the toss as Rabeya Khan removed Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr cheaply. While the spinner constricted the run flow, pace sensation Marufa Akter (one for 58 in seven overs) had a forgettable evening.

Suzie Bates, who scored her first runs in the tournament, deposited Marufa’s wider deliveries around the field as the bowler couldn’t manufacture the prodigious swing she usually gets. But, Bates’ vigil was cut short at 29 after ball-watching got her run out in the PowerPlay.

It was the big stand between Devine (63) and Halliday (69) which rescued New Zealand before the latter was sent back by Fahima Khatun.

Skipper Devine, who notched up her third consecutive 50-plus score this tournament, looked beat in the death overs. A Type 1 diabetic, the 36-year-old ate what looked like gummy bears to revive glucose levels. Fuelled up, she smacked consecutive sixes in the 44th over off Nishita Akter Nishi before the spinner castled her.

Tahuhu and Eden Carson mustered up 16 runs in the last over to take their side to 227 for nine.

If Bangladesh was to pull off its second-highest chase in the format, it would have needed a decent start. But the Tigresses slumped to 22 for three at the end of the PowerPlay with Jess and Rosemary Mair striking with their swing and denying boundaries. In the next four overs, Bangladesh lost three more wickets for 11 runs. Fahima and Rabeya’s 44-run partnership for the eighth wicket tried to take the chase deep but the side was bundled out in 39.5 overs to suffer its second loss in a row.

The scores: New Zealand 227/9 in 50 overs (Brooke Halliday 69, Sophie Devine 63, Rabeya Khan 3/30) bt Bangladesh 127 in 39.5 overs (Fahima Khatun 34, Jess Kerr 3/21, Lea Tahuhu 3/22); Toss: NZ; PoM: Halliday.

South Africa showed that the shellacking at the hands of England was an exception, not the norm, with a dominant six-wicket win against New Zealand in a Women’s World Cup league fixture at the Holkar Stadium here on Monday.

Tazmin Brits (101, 89b, 15×4, 1×6) and Sune Luus (83 n.o., 114b, 10×4, 1×6) carried on unfettered after losing skipper Laura Wolvaardt early in the 232-run chase. After her trademark early shakiness, the only hint of nerves Brits showed was as she neared the ton, pulling out a new ‘archer’ celebration when the job was done.

While Lea Tahuhu managed to hit Brits’ woodwork in the 32nd over and temper the surge to the finish line, Luus calmly helped the side get off the mark in the standings with almost 10 overs to spare. Most importantly, though, the win has done a world of good to South Africa’s Net Run Rate, which has gone from -3.733 to -1.402.

Brits became only the third South African to score an ODI World Cup century after Linda Olivier and Marizanne Kapp. She is also the fastest to seven hundreds in the format (41 innings), bettering Australian legend Meg Lanning’s tally (44).

Earlier, opting to bat, the Kiwis got off to a horrifying start with Kapp removing Suzie Bates – who became the first woman to 350 international caps – off the first ball of the innings.

The low and slow surface helped the Proteas keep the squeeze on, conceding just 38 runs in the PowerPlay, where 49 dots were bowled – the most in an innings in the tournament so far.

After Amelia Kerr succumbed to pressure, the onus of anchoring this White Ferns innings fell on the hardened shoulders of Sophie Devine again.

Meanwhile, Chloe Tryon claimed her 100th international scalp, removing a struggling Georgia Plimmer, which meant an incoming Brooke Halliday was tasked with nursing her side’s sinking scoring rate.

However, once Nonkululeko Mlaba removed Halliday the lower middle-order folded like a pack of cards. Seven wickets fell for just 44 runs, which eventually contributed to the White Ferns suffering a second defeat on the trot.

The scores: New Zealand 231 in 47.5 overs (Sophie Devine 85, Brooke Halliday 45, Nonkululeko Mlaba 4/40) lost to South Africa 234/4 in 40.5 overs (Tazmin Brits 101, Sune Luus 83 n.o.). Toss: New Zealand; PoM: Brits.

England will face Bangladesh for only the second time in ODIs when the two sides meet in the Women’s World Cup at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.

The first time the teams played each other in the format was in the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand. With a 100-run win, England had booked its place in the semifinals of that edition.

While a lack of history between the teams means no possibility of drawing inferences, a look into their wins in the ongoing tournament points to victories earned in similar fashion.

Both matches were low-scoring affairs as England and Bangladesh bundled out their opponents for paltry totals before chasing them down without much hassle.

In England’s 10-wicket demolition job of South Africa — set up by the spin trio of Linsey Smith, Charlie Dean, and Sophie Ecclestone — openers Tamsin Beaumont and Amy Jones chased down 70 runs in 14.1 overs.

For Bangladesh, too, the Akter trio of Marufa, Shorna, and Nahida bowled miserly spells to restrict Pakistan to 129, which was chased down in 31.1 overs, thanks to Rubya Haider’s maiden ODI fifty.

England’s middle-order is yet to get a hit in the centre, but the presence of skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophia Dunkley, who starred in that 2022 match, only reinforces the side’s batting strength.

For the Tigresses, the lack of batting depth already puts them on the back foot against the four-time champion. Past the top five, which includes captain Nigar Sultana Joty, there’s no player who can threaten with the willow.

Having already played in the spin-friendly Barsapara conditions once, the advantage will be with England even before the first ball.

GUWAHATI

The opening ceremony for the Women’s ODI World Cup has been toned down as Assam continues to mourn the death of iconic singer-composer Zubeen Garg, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Devajit Saikia said on Friday (September 26, 2025).

The inaugural match between co-hosts India and Sri Lanka would be held on September 30 at Guwahati’s Barsapara cricket stadium, one of five where the tournament will be held till November 2. The other venues are Indore, Navi Mumbai, and Visakhapatnam in India, and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Also Read: Women’s ODI World Cup | Are the White Ferns the World Cup’s dark horses?

Addressing journalists along with Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Secretary Tridib Konwar at Barsapara, Mr Saikia said the BCCI and ACA had grand plans for the opening ceremony before September 19, the day Garg died in Singapore under mysterious circumstances.

“We decided to cut the frills and make it a solemn 40-minute programme dedicated to the legendary Zubeen Garg. Renowned playback singer Shreya Ghosal is also scheduled to sing as a tribute to Garg during the break of the inaugural match,” Mr Saikia said.

He also said the ACA purchased 5,000 tickets, priced ₹100 each, to be distributed to Garg fans on a first-come-first-serve basis. These tickets would be available at the Guwahati Sports Association office in the Nehru Stadium complex on September 29.

“The World Cup, the biggest international cricket tournament to be held in Guwahati, is expected to generate interest in cricket among girls across the northeast. Popularising the game in smaller urban centres and remote areas is the motive behind the BCCI’s decision to gradually move marquee matches to non-tier 1 cities,” Mr Saikia said, adding that Navi Mumbai was chosen as a venue specifically for logistical reasons.

He also said the BCCI has invited all the captains of the Indian women’s cricket teams since 1975 for the inaugural match. “We plan to felicitate them for representing the country and encouraging girls to take up cricket professionally,” he said.

The former Team India skippers who have confirmed their participation are Shubhangi Kuklarni, Nilima Joglekar, Sandhya Agarwal, Mamatha Maben, Shantha Rangaswamy, Purnima Rau, Chandrakanta Kaul, Anju Jain, Pramila Bhatt, Anjum Chopra, and Mithali Raj.

West Bengal’s Rumeli Dhar and Jhulan Goswami are expected to attend any of the four other matches to be hosted in Guwahati.

Neetu David, the second Indian woman cricketer to be inducted into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame after Diana Edulji, will also be felicitated during the inaugural match.