India captain Harmanpreet Kaur reckons that the top batting order was unable to take responsibility to bat well against South Africa after the team's three-wicket defeat in their third Women's ODI World Cup 2025 clash at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam.
Richa Ghosh helped India go past 200 runs
India were rescued by their destructive wicketkeeper batter Richa Ghosh, smashing a 77-ball 94, including 11 fours and five maximums, while batting as low as No 8 to take her side to 251 all out from a precarious 102 for six.
Harmanpreet after India's defeat
However, Ghosh's effort went in vain by Nadine de Klerk’s 54-ball 84 not out (8x4s, 5x6s) as well as Laura Wolvaardt’s 70 as the Women's in Blue suffered their first defeat in the mega event.
“We didn't take the responsibility as a top-order. We have to change things. We have to get the good totals. It is a long tournament. It was a tough game, but (there are) lots of learnings. We need to keep ourselves in the positive frame (of mind),” Harmanpreet said after the match.
“(It was a) tough game. Both teams played really well. Even though we collapsed while batting but we still managed to put 250 on the board.
“In the end, Chloe and de Klerk batted, they showed it was a very good pitch and they deserved to win with the way they batted,” the Indian captain said.
Harmanpreet Kaur lauded Richa Ghosh
Harmanpreet lavished praise on Richa Ghosh for his stunning knock against South Africa.
“Richa has been outstanding for us. Today we were very pleased too see Richa's hitting. She can get the big totals. Hope she continues,” Harmanpreet said.
Richa Ghosh creates history with a hard-hitting knock
Richa Ghosh created history with her knock, smashing the highest-ever score by a batter at No.8 or lower in Women’s ODI history with a blistering 94 off 77 balls. Here are players who scored the most runs by a batter at number 8 in WODIs.
| Score | Player | Team | Opponent | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94 (77) | Richa Ghosh | IND | SA | Visakhapatnam | 2025 |
| 84* (54) | Nadine de Klerk | SA | IND | Visakhapatnam | 2025 |
| 74 (51) | Chloe Tryon | SA | SL | Colombo (RPS) | 2025 |
| 69 (87) | Fatima Sana | PAK | SA | Karachi | 2023 |
| 68 (71) | Lynsey Askew | ENG | NZ | Chennai | 2007 |
| 67 (59) | Pooja Vastrakar | IND | PAK | Mount Maunganui | 2022 |
Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will now face defending champions Australia in their fourth clash of the mega event on October 12 at the same venue.