The Kotla crowd in Delhi had hardly settled when Smriti Mandhana began carving Australia’s bowling apart. Boundaries kept flowing, the run rate touched double figures, and for a brief spell it felt as if India’s talisman could help chase down the unthinkable. Her century — the second-fastest ever in women’s ODIs — lit up the contest and drew admiration from both fans and opponents alike.
But the fairytale chase slipped away the moment she walked back in the 22nd over. The hosts eventually fell 43 runs short in the series decider, conceding the three-match ODI battle to the world champions.
Yet, as the dust settled, what remained was not disappointment but a sense of conviction — conviction carried in Mandhana’s words as she spoke of a team still discovering its heights ahead of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.
The question came straight: was India leaning too much on Mandhana’s shoulders? She smiled, unflustered, and answered with certainty, “Everyone is a match-winner. Not just the XI but all the fifteen who are in the squad are match-winners. And I don’t look at anyone that they are adding any kind of pressure on me or anyone for that matter.”
Her response carried the calm of someone who has seen both glory and defeat, and the assurance of a leader who trusts her teammates, “I’ve huge belief in my team. At any point, we can still win the match, and any player can take us to the win. And that can never change with one or two results, and over the last 12 months, we’ve got 300-plus even when I’ve got out, so that doesn’t really say anything about the batting reliance on anyone. Pratika, Harleen, Harman, Jemimah they’ve all got hundreds.”
Her words were almost prophetic. Harmanpreet Kaur smashed 52 off 35, while Deepti Sharma added 72 off 58 in Delhi, reminding everyone that India’s middle order, too, has the firepower.
Even when Australia piled on the runs, India’s body language never wavered. Mandhana revealed what was happening in those huddles, “The conversation in between as well was positive. When the drinks break came, we all knew that the wicket was flat. We kept telling each other, “Don’t worry, we’ve got bats and we’ve also come (to play).”
It was an attitude that reflected a new India, one that refuses to be daunted by reputations. But cricket, as always, had its cruel turns, “(We told the bowlers) just bowl your best balls and try and restrict them, and we’ll also try and get those runs. Even in mid-break, we only spoke about how we really want to get this target. That will show the character of the team.
“Some things like me getting out on a full toss, or Richa’s run out didn’t go in our way. But I’m really proud of the way we performed. In the whole series, we showed a lot of character.”
The series had been billed as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, and in that sense, Australia were the perfect opponents. Mandhana acknowledged as much, speaking of the lessons India needed to take forward, “This series for us was about getting a lot of right combinations. Also, Australia is a great opposition to test ourselves and see where we are lacking. It was a good series to understand our strengths and to figure out where we are lacking.”
If batting had shown promise, fielding remained the area of concern, “For sure, there’s a lot of difference in the fielding. As a team, we are on the rise, but there are days where we look like a different fielding side and other days where we don’t. We need to find consistency in how we go about fielding together, not individual brilliance. That’s one thing we’ve to address before the World Cup.”
For Mandhana herself, the series was one more step into the record books. Her 13th ODI century took her level with Suzie Bates, joint-second on the all-time list behind Meg Lanning’s 15. Among openers, she now stands alone at the top, ahead of both Bates and Tammy Beaumont, who have 12 each.
This was also the second instance of her notching back-to-back hundreds, having done so against South Africa last year. Only Beaumont, with three such streaks (2016, 2018, 2025), has managed it more than once.
And fittingly, her innings came in the highest-scoring women’s ODI ever. The 678-run aggregate between India and Australia surpassed the famous Bristol clash in the 2017 World Cup, when England and South Africa combined for the same tally.
She knows she will remain the center of attention at the World Cup, but her belief is firmly spread across the squad. Her bat continues to set records, but it is her words — calm, assured, unwavering — that might define India’s campaign.
“Everyone is a match-winner,” she had said. And in that sentence lies the story of a team preparing to rise together.
As the World Cup beckons, India will take the field in Guwahati against co-hosts Sri Lanka in the tournament opener. For Mandhana, the confidence built in Delhi is worth carrying forward, not the sting of defeat.
(Quotes sourced from the ICC)
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