Former Indian women’s team coach Biju George boldly predicted Team India to beat Australia in the semi-finals on social media on October 26, long before the final 4 was decided. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) NEW DELHI: “Mark my words… Australia will lose only one match in the Women’s World Cup — in the semi-final against India! India will win the tournament,” former Indian women’s coach Biju George boldly predicted on social media on October 26 — long before the semi-final line-up was even decided.George, who served as India’s fielding coach from 2017 to 2019, soon started making waves after his post. Some friends laughed at his predictions, others questioned her and a few scoffed, “Will India win? Are you kidding me?”
Indian women cricketers are given a grand welcome in their hometowns
But George remained calm and composed—and waited. His words turned prophetic as India stunned Australia in the semi-finals, chased down a record total to reach the final and then defeated South Africa in the title clash to lift their first ODI World Cup trophy.“I wish betting was legal in India – I could have put in some money, like 10-15 days back, and cleared some of my debts,” a laughing George told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.“I knew we were going to win this tournament 150% because I saw the pattern. You see, life is full of patterns and as a coach you look for patterns. I knew we were going to win. I said, ‘Australia – we’re going to win’ and people were mocking me. In fact, if you look at my post on social media, one of them tried to pull my leg, asked me if I should rest the match and what I should do. send Jemi one down.’ And that happened,” he said.“The other day I wrote again that ‘This Cup is for India to lose and South Africa to win’. They didn’t understand the grammar – they thought I was predicting that India would lose. The point was – only if India did something very stupid would we lose it. There was no way we could lose.”“It was the belief in the team. I saw the team develop, it came together. It wasn’t a solo effort – it was a chorus, everyone came together and contributed all around. India had this problem of finishing matches but now that Deepti (Sharma) and Richa (Ghosh) have done really well, the end of the match has been taken care of,” he said. So I was 150% sure we would win.
Harmanpreet steps out of the shadows of legends
Harmanpreet Kaur was part of the 2017 World Cup when Mithali Raj-led India fell agonizingly short in the final, losing to England by nine runs. Along with Mithali, veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami, Veda Krishnamurthy, Smriti Mandhana, Sushma Verma, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Punam Raut and Rajeshwari Gayakwad were also part of this heartbreaking defeat. India came so close but missed out on the crown – a wound that still hasn’t healed for George.Only three players from that heartbreaking 2017 – Harmanpreet, Deepti and Mandhana – were part of the 2025 final where they finally made history as India lifted their first ever Women’s World Cup.
Biju George with current Team India captain Harmanpreet Kaur
When asked about Harmanpreet Kaur’s ability to step out of the shadow of the big stars, George said: “Even with Mithali around, Poonam around – Harman was the better player in white-ball cricket out of all these people. Mithali used to be the Jemimah of the time – she was the only cog around which the team revolved. But Harman could take it instantly.”“And I’m lucky – I’ve never seen a better innings than the one she played against Australia in Derby. A cold, rainy day – Harman destroyed them for 171 (vs Australia in the 2017 semi-final) and I don’t think women’s cricket will ever see anything like that again,” he said.“Earlier, Harman believed that she had to win the match all by herself. Now she knows she has people like Richa, Deepti, Jemi, Smriti, Rawal, Shafali, Amanjot – who can win the match, who can also be match winners. That takes a lot of pressure off her. So it means she’s left free, like, I can and I can go deep.” That’s good,” he said.
Good fielding wins you matches
After the heartbreak in the 2017 World Cup, the arrival of players like Jemimah Rodrigues has taken India’s fielding standards to another level. Both Jemimah and Deepti Sharma have praised George on several occasions for raising the bar in the field and teaching the team the art of being a ‘live wire’ on the field.Even in the 2025 final, India’s fielding acumen stood out.After posting 298 for 7 in 50 overs, the team did not allow South Africa to find the boundary easily in the first overs, putting immense pressure on the opposition.South Africa could only manage 33 for no loss in the first seven overs, hitting just four boundaries and a six. Such was India’s fielding intensity – it felt like they were spinning a web around the South African openers.
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“Jemi, Radha, Arundhati – brilliant fielders, a joy to work with, a privilege. These people – if you’re a goldsmith, you need gold to work with.”As a coach in the field, when you have guys like Jemi and Aru, ready to throw their bodies on the line, slide, willing to learn and try everything – that’s good,” said George.
Biju George with young Jemimah Rodrigues
“Jemi has recorded it many times and credited me with turning her into a fielder. She also has a picture of her right hand and left hand, all bandaged, all swollen, after a few sessions with me. That was in 2017 or 2018 — she still has that picture; every once in a while she sends it to me saying, ‘Look what you’ve done to me!’
