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Key Points

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first against India in the Women's World Cup 2025 opener. Captain Chamari Athapaththu expressed confidence in her bowling unit despite the good batting track. India, considered tournament favorites, opted for three spinners in their playing XI. Both teams are chasing their first-ever ICC title in this highly anticipated match.

Key Points: Sri Lanka Bowl First Against India in Women's World Cup Opener

  • Both teams seek their first-ever ICC title in this tournament opener
  • India fields three spinners as favorites playing at home
  • Sri Lanka returns after missing 2022 World Cup qualification
  • Athapaththu likely making her final ODI World Cup appearance
2 min read

Women's World Cup: Renuka misses out as Sri Lanka opt to bowl against India

Chamari Athapaththu opts to bowl as Sri Lanka face tournament favorites India in the Women's World Cup 2025 opening match in Guwahati.

"We are bowling first. I am pretty confident about my bowling unit so we are bowling first. - Chamari Athapaththu"

Guwahati, Sep 30

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss against India in the Women’s World Cup 2025 opener and elected to bowl first at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.

The co-hosts will aim to kick off their campaign on a winning note as they compete in the tournament's first match. Both sides are yet to win an ICC title and will be on the hunt for their first-ever.

Sri Lanka missed out on qualification for the 2022 edition of the tournament and hence were not part of it. Athapaththu, who is most likely making her final ODI World Cup appearance, said, “We are bowling first. I am pretty confident about my bowling unit so we are bowling first. It is a good batting track but there could be some dew later on. We are going with seven batters. The prep has been good. Next five games we are playing in Sri Lanka, I hope we can bring out our best in the competition.”

Dubbed as favourites to win the cup at home, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said that they were going ahead with three spinners and two pacers.

“We were looking to bowl as well. The pitch looks very good, hopefully, we will put up a good score. Everyone is fit, we are going in with three spinners and two pacers. She has been fantastic for us; hopefully, she (Smriti) continues to do well. Today is a great opportunity to play good cricket again,” the Indian skipper said at the toss.

Playing XIs

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera

India: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Shree Charani

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Surprised to see Renuka Thakur not in the playing XI. She's been our best pacer recently. Hope the three-spinner strategy works out on this Guwahati pitch.
A
Ananya R
Chamari's decision to bowl first makes sense with dew factor later. But our Indian batting lineup is strong enough to handle it. Expecting 250+ from our girls! 🏏
D
David E
Watching from Australia - great to see women's cricket getting this level of attention in India. Both teams playing for their first ICC title adds extra drama!
K
Karthik V
Home advantage should help our team. Barsapara stadium has been lucky for Indian cricket. Hope the crowd support pushes our women to victory! 🇮🇳
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Sarah B
Chamari Athapaththu is such an inspirational player! Even though I'm supporting India, I admire her leadership. This should be a competitive match between neighbors.

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