India vs New Zealand Live Score, Women’s World Cup 2025: India will take on New Zealand in a crucial Women’s World Cup match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, with the winner likely to clinch the last semi-final spot. The match, which actually serves as a virtual quarter-final, will determine whether Harmanpreet Kaur’s team can join the other three qualified teams in the semi-finals.
India’s path to qualification remains straightforward with a win against New Zealand. However, a loss would complicate their situation and require England to beat New Zealand and India to win their final group game against Bangladesh.
India come into this match on the back of three consecutive defeats against Australia, South Africa and England – all current semi-finalists in this World Cup. These losses exposed India’s vulnerability under pressure, especially in situations where they seemed to be in control.
Of particular concern was the team’s recent performance in Indore where they failed to chase down 56 runs off 54 balls with seven wickets remaining on a favorable batting track. Captain Harmanpreet described the loss as “heartbreaking”.
The Indian team faces challenges beyond their playing combinations. Their inability to handle the pressure of a home World Cup and lack of specific skills emerged as significant concerns for captain Harmanpreet and head coach Amol Muzumdar.
The team’s batting line-up struggles to finish the game while the bowling unit lacks consistency. Richa Ghosh remains the primary source of big hits, putting further pressure on the lead duo of Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana to step up.
India’s preparations for the crucial match faced a setback when their training session was canceled on Tuesday due to unseasonal rain. They only have Wednesday’s final practice to assess the conditions at the venue.
The venue of the match, DY Patil Stadium, traditionally offers a surface suitable for batting. However, teams batting first have to consider the dew factor in the second innings, which can challenge even experienced bowling attacks.
New Zealand enter this match with experienced players Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates leading their charge. The team faced setbacks as two of their matches in Colombo were washed out by rain.
Sophie Devine, currently the third-highest run-scorer with 260 runs including one century and two fifties in five matches, expressed frustration at limited opportunities in World Cup events after their last rain-affected match against Pakistan.
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Shree and Uma Chetry Ya.
New Zealand: Sophie Devine (c), Isabella Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Polly Inglis (wk), Bella James, Georgia Plimmer, Suzie Bates, Brooke Halliday, Amelia Kerr, Eden Carson, Bree Illing, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Hannah Rowe and Lea Tahuhu.
