Indian women's cricket
World champions since November 2025 and record Asia Cup winners; Jhulan Goswami and Smriti Mandhana hold the big records.
What the paper can ask
- First Test: v West Indies, Bangalore, 31 October to 2 November 1976; first ODI: v England, Kolkata, 1 January 1978.
- World Cup runners-up 2005 (lost to Australia) and 2017 (lost to England by 9 runs); champions 2025 at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. (as of 23 Oct 2026)
- Eight Women's Asia Cup titles: 2004, 2005-06, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2022, 2026. (as of 23 Oct 2026)
- Jhulan Goswami: most ODI wickets for India (255); Smriti Mandhana is the current captain. (as of 23 Oct 2026)
- T20 World Cup runners-up 2020; Commonwealth Games silver 2022.
Why exams ask
Final opponents and margins, the record-breakers and their numbers, and the first-ever matches are the usual questions.
The full story
India's women played their first Test in 1976 and first ODI in 1978, lost World Cup finals in 2005 and 2017, and finally won the ODI World Cup at Navi Mumbai in November 2025. They hold a record eight Women's Asia Cup titles, the latest in Dubai in September 2026. Jhulan Goswami took the most ODI wickets for India, and Smriti Mandhana is now captain.
In the news
- Smriti Mandhana named UNICEF India Celebrity Advocate 11 Oct
- Smriti Mandhana becomes leading run-scorer in women's international cricket with 124 vs Hong Kong 3 Sep
- Harmanpreet Kaur becomes first cricketer, man or woman, to play 200 T20Is 21 Jun
- Smriti Mandhana named in TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 9 Jun