A clinical bowling performance from Kranti Gaud and Deepti Sharma helped India post a huge victory against their rivals, Pakistan, in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 on October 5 at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
The duo went on to pick three wickets each, helping the side to an 88-run victory in Sunday’s clash. With this victory, India climbed to the top spot of the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 points table.
After being invited to bat first, India’s Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana opened the innings while Sadia Iqbal opened the bowling attack.
The duo gave a decent start, scoring 48 runs for the 1st wicket as Fatima Sana got the first breakthrough, bagging the wicket of Smriti Mandhana for 23 runs in the 9th over.
With Harleen Deol and Rawal at the crease, India went on to score 54 runs in the power play.
With Indian batters slightly gaining momentum, Sadia Iqbal bagged her first wicket, dismissing Pratika Rawal for 31 runs.
Harmanpreet Kaur, who came to bat, added 19 runs to the scoreboard before being dismissed by Diana Baig. Deol narrowly missed her fifty as Rameen Shamim sent back the Indian batter for 46 runs.
Jemimah Rodrigues went on to add 32 runs while Sneh Rana brought 20 runs off 33 deliveries before being dismissed by Sandhu and Fatima Sana.
Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh aimed to rebuild the innings, but Deepti’s dismissal has put India in a tough spot as they lost 7 wickets for 203 runs. During the game, Deepti Sharma went on to cross her 4000-run mark in international cricket across formats.
With Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, and Renuka trying to forge a partnership with Ghosh, they got cheaply dismissed as India lost all 10 wickets in their innings.
With Richa Ghosh’s 35* run knock, India posted 247 runs against their rivals at Colombo. Despite Diana Baig picking four wickets, she went quite expensive, leaking 69 runs in her 10-over spell.
🔟 overs
3️⃣ wickets
2️⃣0️⃣ runs
3️⃣ maidens
2️⃣.0️⃣ economyKranti Gaud shines with the Player of the Match award for her impactful bowling ✨🏆
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/9BNvQl3J59#TeamIndia | #WomenInBlue | #CWC25 pic.twitter.com/87OmzYFT0a
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 5, 2025
Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal went on to bag two wickets each, while Rameen Shamim and Nashra Sundhu bagged 1 wicket each.
Aiming to chase the 248-run target, Muneeba Ali and Sadaf Shamas opened the innings while Renuka Singh Thakur opened the bowling attack.
Putting pressure on Pakistan’s batting, Indian bowlers significantly conceded fewer runs in the powerplay (25) and picking 2 wickets.
The openers Muneeba Ali and Sadaf Shamas lost their wickets on a runout (Deepti Sharma) and were caught by Kranti Gaud.
Sidra Amin, who came to bat, took a brief stance, while Aliya Riyaz went back to the dugout for 2 runs after being dismissed by Kranti Gaud. Joining a partnership with Sidra, Natalia went on to stabilise the innings after three dismissals as they stitched a 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
With Kranti Gaud bagging the wicket of Natalia, it was evident that Pakistan went on to crumble against India’s packed bowling lineup.
Meanwhile, Sidra Amin went on to smash fifty and showed a glimpse of taking their side towards victory. In the meantime, Fatima Sana, Sidra Nawaz and Rameen Shamim went on to lose their wickets for 2, 14 and 0, respectively.
Sneh Rana provided a necessary breakthrough, dismissing the well-settled batter Sidra Amin for 81 runs.
With her dismissal, Pakistan’s resistance eventually dropped and got bowled out for 159 runs in their 50-over innings.
Kranti Gaud and Deepti Sharma went on to pick three wickets each, while Sneh Rana bagged two wickets.
India will play their next match against South Africa Women on October 09 at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
