Kaur credits batting resilience after winning start at CWC25
India overcame pressure and difficult batting conditions to score a first-up win at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025.
India's mission to claim a maiden 50-over Women's Cricket World Cup is off to a positive start, beating foes Sri Lanka by 59 runs (DLS method) in Guwahati. But it wasn't all smooth sailing for the home side, who lost four wickets for just four runs in the middle stages of their innings, falling to 124/6 after 27 overs.
Sri Lanka's sixth pole brought Amanjot Kaur to the crease, who steadied things for India alongside Deepti Sharma. Outside of putting their team's batting depth on full show, the pair put on 103 runs for a stand that would help set up a first-up World Cup victory.
India's World Cup campaign off to a winning start against Sri Lanka | Match Highlights | CWC25
Powered by an all-round display from Deepti Sharma and handy contributions from Sneh Rana and Amanjot Kaur, India beat Sri Lanka in their ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 opener.
Post-game, Amanjot (57 off 56) shot down suggestions there were nerves when she came to the crease, clinging to full belief in not only the process, but the talent she shared a wicket with.
"I knew that Deepti was with me," she told media.
"We can make a long partnership. I wanted to stay on the wicket. The wicket was a little sticky, it was holding, it was moving, it was moving, so as long as we played, we knew that we could get a decent total for India, and we did just that.
Amanjot Kaur | ICC WCW25 | India post-match press conference | 30 Sept '25
Amanjot Kaur speaks following India's win in the opening match against Sri Lanka of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025.
"I rarely get a chance to bat, I got the chance today and I enjoyed it when I batted and I'm sure Deepti was also very happy to do batting.
"If I would have played slowly and got out then you’ll would say I wasted so many balls and didn’t get any runs. That is how cricket is. At least that ball will not be spoilt for the next person. Because ultimately, you have to put up some score on the scoreboard to defend."
With a win on the board, India will look to stay in the moment and turn their attention to what promises to be a huge matchup with Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday.
"We're going to take this game by game," Amanjot continued.
"Day one we have done well and we have won, now we have to have eight more good days, hopefully we will have eight (more) good days."
Sri Lanka, meantime, will draw on the positives after their loss to India.
"I think as a team, there were a lot of good things happened," bowler Inoka Ranaweera said post-game after claiming a game-high four wickets (4/46 off nine overs).
"If we take bowling, we did bowl first and also in batting, we had a good partnership in batting as well. That’s something positive when we are moving forward."
Sri Lanka will host reigning champions Australia on Saturday in their next World Cup showdown, in Colombo.
Inoka Ranaweera reflects on positives with ball | Post-match Press Conference | CWC25
Inoka Ranaweera believes Sri Lanka can take plenty of positives from the opening match loss to India at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025
Squads
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Gaud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Sneh Rana
Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunarathne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi De Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani, Imesha Dulani, Dewmi Vihanga, Piumi Wathsala, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodani, Malki Madara, Achini Kulasooriya
