Carrying a well-earned air of swagger, the Indian women enter the 2025 World Cup. With simple scheduling, the expected intensity from training camps, and the freedom of the “fearless cricket” approach, with Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana leading a team built to win a championship and take India to its first ODI World Cup title, India and Sri Lanka will play the official warm-up game for the World Cup with the opener on September 30.
Mindset: ‘Fearless cricket’ isn’t a slogan
Harmanpreet has been open about the mentality shift: the team is exhibiting fearless cricket, and that has sharpened decision-making and confidence in tricky moments on match day. You can see that ease in the way India is managing the pressure overs, how the leaders support the youngsters, how the players treat pressure moments as new opportunities instead of crises. That mentality turns tight games into winning games, and the team is much tougher to upset. It also frees the players to play freely rather than overthinking; this is the difference between a shaky collapse and a solid chase.
Form and depth: runs, young stars, and match-winners
The form book backs the optimism. India has had a very successful ODI year, and several dominant wins have helped immeasurably with confidence and momentum. Smriti Mandhana’s run-scoring spree over the past two years has been the bedrock of India’s batting, providing stability at the top. At the same time, new potential match-winners are coming to the fore; Kranti Goud’s six-for against England and other unexpected stars provided the selectors with more options and tactical options. With that combination of reliable performances from its senior players and backups who are decidedly capable, India has some adaptability even if plan A doesn’t work.
Prep, conditions, and the final stretch
Home conditions should work in India’s favour: well-known pitches, full crowds, and coaching staff who are familiar with getting the preparation right on local pitches. The focus the team has placed on practical training, conditioning, and mental preparation, rather than fancy quick fixes, indicates that they had an eye on the long term and were not panicking for short-term solutions. The series against Australia immediately before the World Cup will be the ultimate dry run – an opportunity to tweak combinations and test nerves against a high-quality opponent; used well, that series can hone edges rather than blunt them.
This does seem less of a hype cycle and more of a thoughtful build: consistent training, defined roles, fearless intent, and sporadic bursts of inspired genius that have changed the landscape. Harmanpreet and Mandhana are the public figures of that transformation, but the tournament will be won by a combination of calm and ambition. Home advantage and fearless cricket will help India break that barrier in lifting its first ODI World Cup title? I’m hopeful – and if you love the game, this World Cup has dramatic, heart, and white-knuckle theatrical ingredients. Dig out your jerseys and have a clear calendar for match day, and sound so this World Cup is one to watch. Will you be watching?
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