3 min readUpdated: Feb 2, 2026 01:47 PM IST
During the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup campaign, India were going through a rut mid-way in the tournament, losing three consecutive games. The third won in the horrid run came against England when the side was in a position to win the game comfortably, but ended up losing. Mandhana, who scored 88 runs, got out at the crucial point in the game, which inflicted a collapse, and England eventually ended up winning the game by four runs.
“I came into the World Cup with amazing form. The first three matches did not go as planned, in one-day cricket, I pride myself not to get out in those first ten overs. I remember we lost to South Africa and I had that conversation with myself that what did I do wrong. I was batting well in the nets. I don’t know if it was pressure or I was not making the right choices on that particular day. I did not find myself feeling good in those first three matches. The next match, we lost but I got an 80, and I was getting the rhythm. The England game, I was the most disappointed with myself,” she said on the RCB Podcast.
“I thought why did I play that shot (Eng game). The next day we had a flight and in the whole flight I was just disappointed. That was the only time I could not speak to anyone. I was stressing a lot. It was the most pressure I had felt. I told myself not qualifying in a home World Cup will do really bad to women’s cricket in India and will take us 20 years back. I was stressing the whole night before the New Zealand game,” Mandhana added.
Against New Zealand, Mandhana went on to score a blistering 109-run innings from 95 balls. “Considering the importance of the match and all the noise, it was special. There are some reserved trolls for women who keep coming back. But for us as a team, we prepped so well. What people talk changes overnight. As a team, we were just helping each other. It was eating me up that we cannot not qualify for the semi-finals of a home World Cup,” she expressed.
