Pratika Rawal’s injury cast a shadow on the final league phase fixture of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup between India and Bangladesh at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The match was abandoned after persistent rain in the second innings forced the officials to call off play, with the hosts looking to chase down a DLS revised score of 126 in 27 overs.
After Pratika’s ankle and injury while fielding, India fielded a makeshift opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Amanjot Kaur. They got off to a brisk start with no spin on the pitch and the ball coming onto the bat nicely. Mandhana, who struck a fine hundred in the previous match against New Zealand, again looked in great rhythm, taking 16 runs from Nahida Akter in the fourth over to set the tone for the innings.
Amanjot gave her good support, and the pair brought up the fifty in the seventh over. But rain returned to interrupt play with India 57/0 in 8.4 overs. The weather eventually had the final say as the match was called off with both teams sharing a point. India finished the league phase with seven points in seven matches, with three wins and three losses, and a no-result. Bangladesh avoided the wooden spoon with three points in seven matches.
Pratika Rawal sustained an injury to her knee and ankle while fielding. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
India will take on Australia in the semi-final at the same venue on Thursday. There is a reserve day for both semi-finals and the final, in case rain doesn’t allow a result on the scheduled day. On Wednesday in Guwahati, England will take on South Africa. If no result is possible after reserve days too, higher-placed teams in the league phase will progress, namely England and Australia.
Left-arm spinners shine
Earlier, a combined effort of 5/53 in 12 overs from Radha Yadav (3/30) and Sree Charani (2/23) helped the hosts restrict Bangladesh to 119/9 in 27 overs. Radha, who was playing her first game of this World Cup, also inflicted a run out to dismiss Joty. Sharmin Akhter played a ball to point in the 17th over, and Yadav took an aim at the non-striker’s end and hit the target. Joty was found inches short of her crease.
Sobhana Mostary tried her best to lift the scoring rate but found no support from the other end. Harmanpreet Kaur decided to employ a heavy dose of spin after the match was reduced to 27 overs per side. The tactic worked as the visitors lost wickets in clusters, going from 91/4 in the 22nd over to 117/9 at the end of their innings.
India’s fielding efforts were highlighted by two contrasting incidents. The first of those came off the last ball of the 21st over. Sharmin lofted a Deepti Sharma delivery towards midwicket, and Rawal ran to stop the ball. In the process, the opening batter overran and twisted her ankle. She was taken off the field and looked in serious pain on her way out. The second instance was the reverse. The right-hander again tried to clear the midwicket boundary in the 25th over, and substitute fielder Arundhati Reddy ran forward and took a fine low catch to send her back to the pavilion.
India vs Bangladesh match was called off due to rain at Navi Mumbai. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
Earlier, twin rain breaks forced the overs to be reduced to 43 overs before coming down further to 27 overs per side. India finally won the toss and elected to field first, but the rain arrived even before a ball could be delivered. The match eventually started at 5 pm but after 51 minutes of play, the heavens opened again and led to a two-hour 14-minute delay.
After the match, Harmanpreet said that Yadav’s performance on Sunday had given the team another combination to consider for the semi-final. “Today the way we bowled, it was quite balanced and lot of clarity was there. Pratika is being monitored by the medical team and hopefully they’ll get back soon. It’s a very important game for us (the semi-final), we have played very good cricket in the league matches and everyone has contributed, which we’ll carry forward. We keep speaking about enjoying ourselves and that’s what we want to do going forward,” the captain said in the post-match presentation.
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“The way Radha played today gives us another option for the next game, Amanjot came back and gave her bit. Whatever we thought, we have achieved, and hopefully Pratika will also be fine for the next game.”
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 119/9 in 27 overs (S Akhter 36, Mostary 26; Yadav 3/30) vs India 57/0 in 8.4 overs (Mandhana 34 not out). No result.
