Women’s cricket has been on an upward trend in India since 2017. The reason?
India’s stellar performance in the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup. Their run to the final put women’s cricket in focus in the country.
Since then, India’s performance has improved manifold in women’s international cricket.
But how have they fared in all Women’s Cricket World Cup editions?
Here’s a look at India’s performance in every Women’s Cricket World Cup.
| Year | Result | Hosts |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Did Not Participate | England |
| 1978 | Group Stage | India |
| 1982 | Group Stage | New Zealand |
| 1988 | Did Not Participate | Australia |
| 1993 | Group Stage | England |
| 1997 | Semi-Final | India |
| 2000 | Semi-Final | New Zealand |
| 2005 | Runners-up | South Africa |
| 2009 | Super Six | Australia |
| 2013 | Group stage | India |
| 2017 | Runners-up | England |
| 2022 | Group Stage | New Zealand |
| 2025 | Winner | India |
Check ICC/ACC women’s tournaments winners
ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Winners
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Winners
1978: Bottom Finish on World Cup Debut
The Indian women’s cricket team made its ODI World Cup debut in 1978. But this was the second edition of the 50-over event.
Despite being the hosts, the hopes were low. The reason? India played women’s ODIs for the first time.
And as expected, they couldn’t win a single match in the four-team tournament. India finished at the bottom in the group stage.
1982: Group Stage Exit
India’s performance wasn’t different in the 1982 edition either. The only silver lining was four wins in the group stage.
Three of those victories came against an International XI. And the other one was against the eventual runners-up, England.
1993: Hit against Minnows, Flop against Heavyweights
After missing out on the 1988 edition, India returned to the World Cup in 1993. They had a topsy-turvy campaign.
The Women in Blue started the tourney well, with a win over the West Indies. But they faltered against the top sides.
In between, they secured victories over inexperienced sides like the Netherlands, Ireland, and Denmark. All in all, India made another group stage exit.
1997: First Semis
The Women’s World Cup returned home in 1997. And this time, the Women in Blue didn’t disappoint.
India remained unbeaten in the group stage with two wins, a tie, and a no result. So they made their first knockouts.
India women beat South Africa in the quarter-final to set up a semi-final clash against Australia. The hosts did well to restrict Australia to 123 for 7 in 32 overs. But the batters didn’t turn up to crash out by 19 runs.
2000: Hopes Dashed in Semis (yet again!)
India drew inspiration from their last edition’s performance and delivered yet another superb campaign. They sneaked in five wins in the group stage to make consecutive semi-finals.
But yet again, they failed to cross the semi-final hurdle. This time against New Zealand. The White Ferns bundled India for 117, which they chased down easily.
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2005: Outperformed in Final
The Indian women’s team took revenge for their last year’s semi-final loss in the 2005 edition. They were yet again up against New Zealand.
This time around, India put up a comprehensive performance to beat the White Ferns to enter their first World Cup final. It was a surreal moment.
But the joy was short-lived as Australia brought them to the ground. The Women in Blue were outperformed by Australia in the final.
2009: Stuck in Super Six
India were through the group stage in the 2009 edition. They had two wins out of three games to qualify for the Super Six stage.
India carried two points into the Super Six stage, thanks to their group stage win over Pakistan. Then they overcame Australia and the West Indies in the Super Six round.
But a loss against New Zealand meant they failed to qualify for the final. India, though, ended the tournament with a victory against Australia in the third-place playoff.
2013: Disappointing Home World Cup
The 2013 World Cup was a disappointing affair for India. While they started well, they lost steam pretty quickly.
With a solitary win out of three group stage games, India crashed out of the home World Cup. They somehow settled on the seventh position in the eight-team event.
2017: India Let Loose
India put behind the 2013 edition performance to bounce back strong in 2017. They began with four consecutive wins before two big losses.
But a win in the last group stage match saw them make the semi-final. It was against the tournament favourites, Australia.
India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, put up one of the best batting displays to give the team an edge over Australia. Her unbeaten 171 made sure India qualified for their second World Cup final.
India were pretty much ahead in the final as well. But England’s Anya Shrubsole pulled back the strings to keep India away from the trophy.
2022: Miss on a Semi-Final Spot
The Women in Blue had a mixed outing in the 2022 edition. They secured three wins of the seven games in the group stage.
While the victories were massive, they failed to defend good totals in two games. That dented their semi-final hopes. And India returned home after the group stage.
2025: India Lift the Trophy
The World Cup was back home after more than a decade. This time, India were among the favourites.
And the campaign even got off to a good start. India beat Sri Lanka and Pakistan in their first two matches.
But the next three games brought them back on the ground. They faced close defeats against South Africa, Australia, and England.
Despite that, the World Cup dream was still alive. India desperately needed a win in their next game. And they did secure it by beating New Zealand.
That sealed India’s spot in the semi-final even before their last washed-out league stage match against Bangladesh.
Now India were up against Australia in the semi-final, with 338 to chase, a target no team had chased down before in women’s ODIs. But Jemimah Rodrigues showed the way with her brilliant century to take India into the final.
Shafali Varma and Deepti Sharma showed their all-round brilliance in the final against South Africa to end India’s 47-year-long wait!
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