Tendulkar, Ganguly, Rohit hail India’s record chase as women storm into World Cup final

Jemimah Rodrigues’ heroics power India to historic win over Australia in semi-final

Last updated:
Devadasan K P, Chief Visual Editor
2 MIN READ
India's Jemimah Rodrigues (C) gestures as she celebrates the team's win at the end of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 one-day international (ODI) semi-final match between India and Australia.
India's Jemimah Rodrigues (C) gestures as she celebrates the team's win at the end of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 one-day international (ODI) semi-final match between India and Australia.
AFP

Dubai: In a thrilling semi-final clash at the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 in Navi Mumbai, the India women’s cricket team pulled off a stunning run-chase of 339 to beat seven-time champions Australia women’s cricket team and swagger into the final. The recovery came after early setbacks, but a remarkable 127* from Jemimah Rodrigues and a gritty 89 from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, allied with key cameos by Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh, sealed the deal.

The moment sent ripples through the Indian cricket fraternity — and beyond. Greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were quick to congratulate the side, celebrating not just the win, but what it signals for women’s sport in India. Tendulkar hailed the win as “fabulous” and urged the team to “keep the tricolour flying high”.

Ganguly welcomed the victory as clear evidence of the women’s team’s exponential growth over the past five years — “Incredible stuff … one more to go”.

Meanwhile, men’s head coach Gautam Gambhir chimed in: “It ain’t over till it’s over! What a performance girls.”

For India, this is more than a win. It’s a statement: the women in blue can rise to the occasion, defy the odds and make history on home soil. With the final now ahead, the mood is electric. If they can channel this belief and performance one more time, the Indian women’s side might take the ultimate prize.

Devadasan K P
Devadasan K PChief Visual Editor
Devadasan K P is the Chief Visual Editor at Gulf News, bringing more than 26 years of experience in photojournalism to the role. He leads the Visual desk with precision, speed, and a strong editorial instinct. Whether he’s selecting images of royalty, chasing the biggest celebrity moments in Dubai, or covering live events himself, Devadasan is always a few steps ahead of the action. Over the years, he has covered a wide range of major assignments — including the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, feature reportage from Afghanistan, the IMF World Bank meetings, and wildlife series from Kenya. His work has been widely recognised with industry accolades, including the Minolta Photojournalist of the Year award in 2005, the Best Picture Award at the Dubai Shopping Festival in 2008, and a Silver Award from the Society for News Design in 2011. He handles the newsroom pressure with a calm attitude, a quick response time, and his signature brand of good-natured Malayali humour. There's no fuss — just someone who gets the job done very well, every single time.

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