India’s Richa Ghosh breaks world record with stunning 94 at No. 8 in World Cup clash

At Visakhapatnam’s ACA-VDCA Stadium in the Women’s World Cup 2025, India’s Richa Ghosh turned a tough match into a thrilling win for her team. The young 22-year-old batter came in at number eight and hit 94 runs from 77 balls with 11 fours and four sixes. She changed India’s score from a weak 102 for six to a strong 251 against South Africa. 

Richa Ghosh’s record-breaking knock ignites India’s fightback

Richa Ghosh came to bat when India looked in big trouble after falling to 102 for six in 26 overs, facing South Africa’s tight bowling. She stayed calm and hit hard to make a key 51-run link with Amanjot Kaur by turning the ball well and adding big sixes to speed things up. When Kaur got out trying to go faster, Ghosh joined Sneh Rana for a quick 88-run pair at the eighth wicket in just 53 balls, breaking the old best in women’s one-day games. 

From 102/6 to 250 💪

Richa Ghosh turns it around with a stunning 94 off 77 🤯#INDvSA #CWC25 pic.twitter.com/G0XLUJWIaD

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) October 9, 2025

She got her seventh fifty in 53 balls and then hit hard, taking 44 runs in the last part, even after drops at 76 and 84, falling close to 100 in the end over. This smart play lifted India to 251 and made her the first at number eight or lower to get over 80 runs, beating Chloe Tryon’s 74 from that year.

Also, Ghosh hit 1,000 one-day runs in only 1,010 balls, putting her third fastest after Ash Gardner and Nat Sciver-Brunt. Her mix of wait and power shows considerable growth, turning loss into a chance to win and giving her team hope to go far.

Top-order tumble exposes ongoing vulnerabilities

India’s batters started well with openers Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana making 55 runs in the first 10 overs on the best pitch they saw in the event so far. Rawal showed nice shots like a clean cover drive against Marizanne Kapp that made the crowd cheer, while Mandhana tried to get going with a massive straight six off Ayabonga Khaka. 

But Mandhana felt uneasy against the slow bowlers and got out to Noku Mlaba, starting a bad fall where five batsmen lost for just 19 runs. Harleen Deol fell to Mlaba’s smart turn that left her open, and Rawal’s push to the leg off Tumi Sekhukhune gave a catch to Tazmin Brits near the middle. 

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur drove too soon at Chloe Tryon and edged to Kapp while Jemimah Rodrigues missed a sweep, getting out leg before, and Deepti Sharma caught down the leg, all showing they rushed without matching the ball’s grip and spin. 

This same top-order problem, even on a simple ground like compared to Guwahati and Colombo, points to bigger needs in building scores slowly, leaving the bottom to fix things again. 

Still, Ghosh’s great work hid these weak spots for now, giving signs that fixes from this fall could help India do better as South Africa stood at 128 for five chasing.