Playing a Women’s World Cup at home isn’t easy. But India head coach Amol Muzumdar made it clear that the side is ‘well equipped’ to handle the pressure.

India bottled a run chase against England that was largely in control a few days ago in Indore, triggering questions on the team’s ability to challenge top sides in the 50-over showpiece.

Ahead of a must-win fixture against New Zealand in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, Muzumdar admitted that there have been some ‘honest discussions’ in the camp, after failing to finish close games.

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“To be very honest, we were not able to finish things off. We always reiterate that starting well is important, but finishing better is what wins games,” he said, hoping that lessons learned would translate into results against the White Ferns.

Over the last few years, Richa Ghosh has emerged as a specialised finisher, but the coach admitted that players need to step up and back her.

“As a batting group, we’ve had discussions about it. Obviously, we need to get to a certain stage where we can offer that kind of liberty for Richa to go out there and play her shots. We haven’t converted those 50s into 100s, which we have been doing just before this World Cup, but hopefully we will turn things around,” Muzumdar added.

In the last game, India left out Jemimah Rodrigues as the team management felt it was important to accommodate an extra bowling option in those conditions. Even though the result did not go India’s way, Muzumdar stated that Jemimah took the decision sportingly.

“Jemi has been a very important player, an integral part of this side that we have built. (It was) One of the toughest decisions, but sometimes tough calls do need to be taken,” he added.

Published on Oct 22, 2025