India’s past ICC finals ahead of title-decider against South Africa:Women in Blue’s history of heartbreaks- 2005, 2017, 2020; can they finally cross the finish line?

India women’s cricket team will take on South Africa in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 final on November 2. This will be India’s third ODI World Cup final. History, however, shows a pattern of heartbreak for the team in ICC finals, as they have been unable to cross the finishing line even once. 2005 Centurion: Australia prove too strong India reached their first ODI final in 2005 at Centurion. Australia batted first and scored 215/4, powered by Karen Rolton’s unbeaten 107 and Lisa Sthalekar’s 55. India’s bowlers- Jhulan Goswami, Amrita Sharma, Rumeli Dhar and Neetu David were the wicket-takers. Chasing 216, India crumbled under scoreboard pressure and were bowled out for 117. Cathryn Fitzpatrick and Shelley Nitschke took key wickets as Australia sealed a 98-run win. Also Read | BCCI warns Mohsin Naqvi of escalating trophy issue to ICC 2017 Lord’s: Choking under pressure India’s second ODI final came in 2017 at Lord’s against England. Electing to bat, England posted 228/7, with Nat Sciver-Brunt scoring 51 and Sarah Taylor 45. Jhulan Goswami picked 3 wickets, Poonam Yadav 2. India’s chase started brightly- Punam Raut made 86, Harmanpreet Kaur 51 and Veda Krishnamurthy 35 but despite needing just 31 from 36 balls with five wickets in hand, India faltered. Anya Shrubsole’s 6-wicket haul guided England to a narrow 9-run win. 2020 T20 World Cup MCG: Australia dominate again In the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final at MCG, India again faced Australia. Batting first, Australia posted 184/4 with Alyssa Healy scoring 75 and Beth Mooney 78. Deepti Sharma took 2 wickets. India’s response collapsed under pressure, finishing at 99 all out. Deepti Sharma top-scored with 33 but Megan Schutt’s 4 wickets ensured Australia’s comfortable 85-run victory. Third time’s the charm in ODIs? With the 2025 final against South Africa, India have a historic chance to break the ICC final curse. After past near-misses, the team will be hoping home conditions, crowd support and their key batters and bowlers can finally deliver a maiden ICC final win.