What went wrong for India women at ICC Women's T20 World Cup?

Tactical rigidity and a conservative middle-order

While modern T20 cricket demands fearless, aggressive intent, experts heavily criticized India’s conservative approach during the middle overs. Instead of maximizing momentum after the powerplay, the batting unit frequently went into a shell, putting immense pressure on lower-order power hitters like Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma. Despite India women setting a seemingly competitive 170/4 against Australia, the middle-order slowed down before a final-over blitz by Harmanpreet Kaur (56 off 25). The inability to find boundaries consistently during the 7-15 over phase meant India routinely fell 15–20 runs short of a desired safe score.

Over-reliance on innings consolidation vs power hitting

Experts criticized the team selection for prioritizing pure accumulators over aggressive power-hitters in the top and middle order. Persisting with both Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues—neither known for raw boundary-clearing power—meant India struggled to counter aggressive fields on the ground like Lord’s. When India needed to accelerate against Australia’s high-pressing field, the lack of boundary became critical. While Australia’s Ellyse Perry (56 off 38) and Ashleigh Gardner (53* off 29) scored at rapid strike rates to chase down 171 with an over to spare, India’s support batters struggled heavily to strike at above 110.

Poor fielding and dropped catches

One of the most concerning issues was India’s poor fielding, which resulted in catch drops in critical junctures of games during their campaign. India women consistently gifted elite batters second chances. India dropped an alarming 10 catches across their group stage matches, ranking as the third-worst fielding side in the tournament. In their crucial loss to South Africa, they dropped marquee batter Marizanne Kapp three separate times, allowing her to guide the Proteas to victory.

Unsettled combinations

India lacked a settled, stable combination in this T20 World Cup. The team management kept shuffling players, particularly within the bowling department, and also altered the critical No. 3 slot. India women utilized completely different seam attacks across their five matches. Frontline options like Renuka Singh and Arundhati Reddy were benched for parts of the tournament, playing just two games each. On the other hand, Nandani Sharma and Kranti Gaud were rotated into three matches each. This lack of role clarity severely disrupted the team’s rhythm.

Tactical errors at crucial situations

Beyond technical skill, lapses in captaincy and on-field decision-making under high-pressure scenarios cost India this time. In the do-or-die contest against Australia, India’s bowling attack struggled with poor line and length, giving away easy boundary options. Later, during India’s innings, the well-set Jemimah Rodrigues was retired out in the 19th over, disrupting the set momentum right before the death-over finish. India brought in Richa Ghosh, who could face just one delivery. The timing could have been better for the strategic move.

Rise of Shree Charani, the kind India women need

However, amidst the disappointing campaign, the brightest spark for India was young left-arm spinner Shree Charani. Emerging as the tournament’s standout bowler, she picked up 14 wickets in just 5 matches at an incredible economy rate of 5.85. The way Charani delivered on the world stage, it is exactly the kind of fearless talent India women need for its upcoming reset.