Indian women’s team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has set her target on achieving the upcoming 13th edition of the Women’s World Cup starting on September 30, 2025. The 36-year-old and her deputy, Smriti Mandhana, are confident enough of triumphing in the World Cup at home.
Notably, Harmanpreet and Smriti were part of the Mithali Raj-led squad that lost the 2017 final to England. Also, in the last ODI World Cup in 2022, the Indians failed to secure a berth in the semi-final.
After concluding as the two-time runner-up twice in 2005 and 2017, the women-in-blue aim to lift their maiden World Cup trophy. And with the ODI series scheduled against Australia, Harmanpreet Kaur strongly believes that she can break the barrier this time under her captaincy and bring the trophy to India.
‘We Will Try to Break the Barrier’: Harmanpreet’s Confident Statement
During the ODI World Cup trophy unveiling ceremony in Mumbai, Harmanpreet gave a confident statement of winning the championship title:
“Yeah! We want to give our 100% and try to successfully break the barrier that we have been waiting for years. Also, it is a special feeling to play in front of our home crowd,” Harmanpreet said.
‘We Have Been Playing Fearless Cricket’: Indian Captain’s Opinion
Furthermore, the Indian all-rounder strongly believes that her team has been playing fearless cricket for the past few years, which enhances their confidence for the forthcoming high-profile tournament:
“Yeah! Speaking honestly, the way we have played in the last couple of years has boosted our confidence greatly. Luckily, we have been playing extremely well, and we just want to keep it going. I believe it is all about having a positive mindset and playing with a fearless approach, which we have been doing for a long time,” Harmanpreet Kaur explained.
ODI Series vs Australia Before World Cup 2025
Before starting the campaign against Sri Lanka on September 30, Team India will compete against Australia in a 3-match ODI series at home in the same month (14th, 17th, and 20th of September). Harmanpreet believes that hosting the white ball series against the Aussies helps to increase the confidence levels of her team members ahead of the highly anticipated tournament.
“Yeah! Playing the ODI series against Australia will always be a tough challenge, and we will get to know exactly where we stand. The efforts that we have been investing in our training camps have started to show the positive results,” Harmanpreet Kaur added.
A Recap of Harmanpreet’s 171-Run Knock vs Australia
Back in the ODI World Cup 2017, Harmanpreet scored an unbeaten 171-run knock from just 115 balls (including 20 fours and 7 sixes) against Australia in the semi-final. The spin-bowling all-rounder recalled her performance and said it was a massive milestone for her career as well as for the entire women’s cricket.
“Yes! That one knock was extremely special not only for me but also for the whole women’s cricket. Since playing that knock, I was able to observe a lot of changes within me. Although we lost that World Cup (in 2017), people waited and cheered for us when we returned to India,” Harmanpreet Kaur remembered her performance.
It was indeed Harmanpreet’s career-best score that propelled India’s total to 281 in 42 overs for a loss of four wickets. She was honored with the Player of the Match as her knock played a crucial role in India’s 36-run victory against the Aussies in the semi-final.
Unfortunately, India ended their campaign as runner-up after losing the final by just 9 runs. Despite being in a winning position, the Indian batting line-up collapsed from 138/3 in 33.3 overs to 219 in 48.4 overs. In other words, the visitors lost the remaining 7 wickets for just 28 runs and failed to accomplish a 228-run target.
However, Harmanpreet was once again the top run scorer for her team in the final, having scored 51 runs from 80 balls (including 3 fours and 2 sixes).
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Harmanpreet Kaur About Winning the ODI Series in England
The Indian women’s team had a historic tour of England, having won both T20I series (by 3-2) and ODI series (by 2-1) for the first time. But Harmanpreet wasn’t surprised by the outcome and was well aware of winning the series on English soil:
“Definitely! The results in England weren’t surprising for me and my team members. This is because we were confident in the way we carried out our preparations. Also, we were aware that we could easily accomplish this.
We were working very hard, but at the same time, we ensured to keep things as simple as possible. All we had to do was keep our confidence levels high so that we could win any series or tournament.
So far, we have been discussing how we can secure a victory and improve our skills. Just because of our routine work, we didn’t feel that we had done something great and wanted to keep working on the same tasks again and again,” Harmanpreet Kaur concluded.
