As India fell to their second successive defeat at the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup with a three-wicket loss against Australia on Sunday, coach Amol Muzumdar stressed on the importance of finishing well.
Muzumdar pointed out how his wards failed to close out the match against South Africa with the ball and then again fell at least 20 runs short with the bat against Australia after getting off to a good start.
“I always say in the dressing room that we need a good start but we need to have an even better finish,” Muzumdar said in the post-match press conference.
“The finish that we had against South Africa, we ended up losing the game in the last five overs with the ball. Even today [against Australia] if we had gotten another 20 runs, maybe things could have been different.
“At the same time, it has been a gradual progress for us and there have been a lot of learnings. I keep talking about positives and learnings and one of the things to learn is how to finish well,” the coach added.
Having been asked to bat first against Australia, India got off to a stellar start as openers Smriti Mandhana (80) and Pratika Rawal (75) added 155 runs for the opening partnership. The hosts were later bowled out for 330 with more than an over to spare.
Australia, in response, chased down the target with an over left, thanks to a stunning century by captain and opener Alyssa Healy (142). It marked the highest successful run chase in women’s ODI history.
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