**Women’s World Cup 2025: India Face Sri Lanka in Opener**
*By Parth Dhall | Sep 29, 2025, 04:48 PM*
The opening match of the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup will see India take on Sri Lanka at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Despite a recent home series loss to Australia, India has enjoyed a strong run this year and will be led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, with Smriti Mandhana serving as her deputy. On the other side, Sri Lanka will be spearheaded by their captain Chamari Athapaththu, aiming to make a strong impression.
### Match Details and Pitch Report
The Barsapara Cricket Stadium offers a batting-friendly pitch. Early swings and seam movement typically assist the pacers, while spinners tend to dominate as the match progresses. This ground, which features 10 pitches, has hosted just three international matches so far – all WT20Is in 2019.
Fans in India can catch the Women’s World Cup live on the Star Sports Network channels. Additionally, live streaming will be available on the JioHotstar app and website.
### Head-to-Head Record
India holds a dominant head-to-head advantage against Sri Lanka in Women’s One Day Internationals (WODIs), leading 31-3. In their last six encounters, India has defeated Sri Lanka five times, underscoring their superiority in this rivalry.
### Team Squads
**India Women’s Squad**
– Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain)
– Smriti Mandhana (Vice-Captain)
– Pratika Rawal
– Harleen Deol
– Jemimah Rodrigues
– Richa Ghosh
– Uma Chetry
– Renuka Singh Thakur
– Deepti Sharma
– Sneh Rana
– Sree Charani
– Radha Yadav
– Amanjot Kaur
– Arundhati Reddy
– Kranti Gaud
*Reserves:* Tejal Hasabnis, Prema Rawat, Priya Mishra, Minnu Mani, Sayali Satghare.
**Sri Lanka Women’s Squad**
– Chamari Athapaththu (Captain)
– Hasini Perera
– Vishmi Gunarathne
– Harshitha Samarawickrama
– Kaveesha Dilhari
– Nilakshika Silva
– Anushka Sanjeewani
– Imesha Dulani
– Dewmi Vihanga
– Piumi Wathsala
– Inoka Ranaweera
– Sugandika Dasanayaka
– Udeshika Prabodani
– Malki Madara
– Achini Kulasooriya
*Reserve:* Inoshi Fernando.
### Players to Watch
India’s highest run-scorer in Women’s World Cup history is former captain Mithali Raj, amassing 1,321 runs at an average of 47.17. Current captain Harmanpreet Kaur is also a prolific performer with 876 runs at an average of 51.52 in World Cups, making her the only other Indian with over 650 runs in the tournament’s history. Former pacer Jhulan Goswami holds the record for the most wickets in Women’s World Cup history.
For Sri Lanka, Chamari Athapaththu stands out with a World Cup batting average of 39.15. Harshitha Samarawickrama has been impressive this year, scoring 336 runs at an average of 48 in eight ODIs.
### India’s Women’s World Cup Journey
Although India has yet to win the Women’s ODI World Cup, the team has finished as runners-up twice – in 2005 and 2017. In 2005, India lost to Australia in the final, while in 2017, England denied them the title. The biennial editions in 1997 and 2000 saw India exit in the semi-finals. Notably, in the 2009 tournament, which did not feature semi-finals, India secured a third-place finish.
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With a powerful lineup and strong World Cup pedigree, India will look to start their 2025 campaign on a winning note against Sri Lanka at Guwahati.
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