India’s ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 campaign saw a setback on Thursday when they were defeated by South Africa, following two earlier wins. While the loss doesn’t end their semi-final hopes, it complicates their situation, particularly with the tough matches ahead. India are still in control of their own destiny for a top-four finish, but Harmanpreet Kaur‘s side must win three of the remaining four group-stage games to reach the semi-finals.

Their next match is against defending champions Australia on Sunday, October 12, in Visakhapatnam, which will be one of their biggest test. Harmanpreet and her team will be determined to overcome this challenge. After that, India will face England and New Zealand, two other teams that are serious contenders for the title.

After the loss to South Africa, Harmanpreet quickly called out the top-order’s underperformance, urging them to deliver in the remaining matches.

“It was a tough game, and both teams played really well. Although we collapsed while batting, we still managed to set a total of 250. In the end, Chloe and de Klerk played brilliantly, showing that it was a good pitch, and they fully deserved to win with their performance. Richa has always been outstanding for us. She’s someone who can turn the game around, and the way she was hitting today made us all really happy,” she said.

“She’s capable of hitting big sixes and posting a high total. I think she played beautifully today, and we hope she continues in this form. As a top-order, we didn’t take enough responsibility and lost too many wickets. We need to focus on the process, as we kept losing wickets in the middle,”she added.