India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur was over the moon as the Women in Blue defeated the unbeaten Australian team in the second semi-final of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 in Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on October 30.

Phoebe Litchfield’s 119 and fifties by Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner took Australia to 338 runs in 50 overs. For India, Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani took two wickets each. In response, India lost openers Shafali Verma (10) and Smriti Mandhana (24) cheaply.

But then Jemimah Rodrigues anchored one end of the crease, while Harmanpreet Kaur played a captain’s knock. She made 89 in 88 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes but got out after adding 167 runs with Jemimah for the third wicket.

But Jemimah continued her work and finally got India past the finish line, ending with 127* with 14 fours as India concluded a world record chase, overhauling 338 by scoring 341/5 with 9 balls to spare and 5 wickets in hand.

India's performance was inconsistent throughout the competition, with wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan followed by losses to South Africa, Australia, and England. The hosts managed to huff and puff their way into the semi-finals.

After the triumph over Australia, skipper Harmanpreet and head coach Amol Muzumdar spoke with broadcaster Star Sports, and the duo spilled the beans on the dressing room conversation following the loss to England and how it fuelled India's comeback in the competition.

It is worth noting that India's loss to England left them staring down the barrel, and a win over New Zealand was required to earn a spot in the semifinals.  

During the conversation, Harmanpreet said that the coach had become "aggressive" inside the dressing room, giving the players a piece of his mind after the team failed to close out the game against England despite being in a winning position.

Here's how the entire conversation went:

Harmanpreet: “First of all, after losing against England, I think Sir can tell you better. I didn't speak a word after that match because he was only speaking. So, I think he can tell you better.”

Muzumdar: “Okay, I'll take over from here. Just had a little bit of a chat with the players.”

Harmanpreet: “YOU (impersonating Amol Muzumdar).”

Muzumdar: “I did say a few things in the dressing room. But it was shared in good spirits.”

Harmanpreet: “Everybody took it in good spirits. We all trust whatever Sir says because we know whatever he says, he says from the heart. And that day, he was a little aggressive in a good way.”

Muzumdar: “You don't have to reveal everything.”

Harmanpreet: “Everybody took it positively. We knew whatever Sir was saying was right. After that, I spoke to all the team members because I wanted to see how they were feeling. I know Sir is expecting the right thing from us.”

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India will face South Africa in the final of the Women’s World Cup 2025 on November 2 at DY Patil Stadium.