Table of Contents
Two teams. 4 decades. A scoreline that used to look embarrassing for one side, and now looks like a fight.
India Women vs Australia Women is the defining rivalry in women’s cricket. Not because it’s always been close. Because it hasn’t been, and that’s exactly what makes it matter. India spent most of these 40-plus years getting outclassed. They kept showing up. And somewhere between 2005 and 2026, the gap closed.
Australia still leads. But India is no longer afraid.
India Women vs Australia Women Head-to-Head Record
| Format | Matches Played | India Women Wins | Australia Women Wins | Draw/No Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Matches | 11 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| One Day Internationals (ODIs) | 56 | 11 | 45 | 0 |
| Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) | 35 | 8 | 27 | 0 |
| Overall | 102 | 19 | 76 | 7 |
Overall Statistics
The numbers tell a clear story, though maybe not the one you’d expect after watching recent cricket.
Across all T20I matches, Australia dominates the head-to-head with 26 wins to India’s 7, with 1 tie and 1 no result from 35 meetings. In ODIs, the gap is even wider. India and Australia women have faced each other 53 times in ODIs, with Australia holding a 43-10 lead. The two first met in 1978.
In Tests, Australia leads India 4-1 across 11 matches, with 6 drawn.
The headline stat, though, is this: India won their first-ever bilateral ODI series against Australia… never. India have never won a bilateral ODI series against Australia anywhere. Not yet. The T20 story, however, is a different one entirely.
Format-Wise Breakdown
Tests: Australia dominant, 4 wins to India’s 1, with 6 draws from 11 matches.
ODIs: Australia lead 43-10 from 53 matches. India’s wins have been rare but memorable, including the biggest one of all in October 2025.
T20Is: Australia lead 26-8. But India’s 2 bilateral series wins have both come on Australian soil.
Early Years of the Rivalry (1984–2000)
The First Meeting
India and Australia met at the 1984 Women’s World Cup, and the result was predictable. Australia were already a cricket nation with infrastructure, contracts, and depth. India was still figuring out how to fund overseas tours. The early meetings weren’t close.
Australia ran women’s cricket in the 1980s and 1990s with the same easy authority they’ve always had. Karen Rolton, Belinda Clark, Lisa Keightley. These were professionals playing against a team that sometimes couldn’t afford to travel.
Challenges and Foundations
Indian women’s cricket in this era was administered by the Women’s Cricket Association of India, a body kept alive more by passion than funding. Their history is dotted with financial difficulty before every overseas tour and before every World Cup, which even made India miss the 1988 edition, before the BCCI took the women’s game under its wing in 2006.
Australia, meanwhile, were building systems. State cricket, domestic competitions, coaching pathways. The gap in 1984 wasn’t just talent. It was infrastructure.
The Turning Point (2005)
India’s First Series Win
In 2005, India won an ODI series against Australia on home soil: their first-ever series victory over Australia in any format. Mithali Raj’s consistency and Jhulan Goswami’s bowling carried India across three games.
Goswami’s swing in Indian conditions unsettled a batting lineup built for pace and bounce. Raj just kept scoring. She scored in every format, in every condition, against every team, for 23 years.
That 2005 series win was immediately followed by Australia winning the next three bilateral encounters. But it planted something critical: Indian players finally believed Australia could be beaten. Belief, more than batting averages, is what the next 15 years were built on.
The 2005 World Cup Final
The same year brought India to their first-ever World Cup final. They got there by beating Australia in the semi-final, then faced them again in the decider in South Africa. India reached the World Cup final in 2005, losing to Australia by 98 runs.
Painful. But they were there. That mattered.
Under Mithali Raj’s captaincy, India reached their first-ever ODI World Cup final in 2005 in South Africa. It was the beginning of a transformation in Indian women’s cricket.
The 2010s: Competition Arrives
Harmanpreet’s 171 at Derby (2017 World Cup)
If one innings changed the public perception of Indian women’s cricket forever, it’s this one.
Australia won the toss and sent India in on a damp, overcast Derby morning. India posted 281/4 in a rain-reduced 42 overs, powered by Harmanpreet Kaur’s legendary 171* off 115 balls (20 fours, 7 sixes). The kind of innings that fills stadiums and creates careers for the next generation. Australia responded hard, but India’s bowlers, led by Deepti Sharma (3/59) and Shikha Pandey (2/17), kept the Aussies in check. Australia were bowled out for 245 in 40.1 overs. India triumphed by 36 runs to reach their second World Cup final.
Harmanpreet didn’t just beat Australia that day. She made millions of people at home notice this team existed.
The 2020 T20 World Cup Final, Melbourne
Then came the gut punch.
Australia won the toss, batted first, and posted 184. The Baggy Greens utterly dominated the game, posting a total of 184 and then bowling out India at 99, winning by 85 runs to lift their fifth Women’s T20 World Cup title.
The crowd that day was 86,174 people at the MCG. The largest crowd ever to watch a women’s cricket match. India were beaten, but they played in front of that crowd. And they knew: this sport had arrived.
Modern Era (2020–2026)
2024 Women’s T20 World Cup
India came into the 2024 tournament with legitimate semifinal ambitions. Their group-stage clash with Australia was tense, tight, and went Australia’s way. The last time India met Australia in a T20 match before the 2026 tour was at the T20 World Cup 2024, when they lost by 9 runs.
9 runs. Close, but not close enough.
The 2025 World Cup Semi-Final: India’s Greatest Chase
October 30, 2025. DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
Australia batted first and made 338. Phoebe Litchfield scored 119 off 93 balls, becoming the youngest player to score a century at a Women’s World Cup. Ellyse Perry added 77 and Ash Gardner contributed 63. It looked like game over.
Then Jemimah Rodrigues walked to the crease.
The 25-year-old Indian batter hit an unbeaten 127 as India completed the highest successful run-chase in women’s ODI history to knock out Australia from the World Cup. Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (89) put on 167 for the third wicket as India chased down 339 to join South Africa in the final.
The innings ended Australia’s run of 15 consecutive wins at Women’s ODI World Cups. Fifteen. In a row. Over multiple tournaments. And Rodrigues broke it.
The five-wicket win marked India punching their ticket to their third ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Final after 2005 and 2017. This time, they won the whole thing, beating South Africa in the final.
India Women’s Tour of Australia 2026
India arrived in Australia for this tour as World Cup champions. The optics had flipped.
1st T20I, Sydney (February 15)
India’s bowlers set up the victory with a disciplined, incisive performance that bundled out world No. 1 Australia for 133 in just 18 overs.
Arundhati Reddy was the story. She finished with impressive figures of 4/22 in her four overs, delivering crucial breakthroughs by dismissing Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, and Darcie Brown. Career best. In Australia. On their soil.
Rain arrived during the chase and India were declared winners by 21 runs via DLS, with the score at 50/1 after 5.1 overs. Arundhati Reddy was adjudged the Player of the Match.
2nd T20I, Canberra (February 19)
Australia fought back hard.
Georgia Voll struck 88 off 57 balls, including 11 fours and a six, while anchoring a 128-run opening stand with Beth Mooney, who surpassed Meg Lanning to become Australia’s top scorer in women’s T20Is during her knock.
India needed 44 off 24 with 7 wickets in hand and lost. India lost six wickets for 24 runs in the last four overs to end with 144/9. Ashleigh Gardner took 3/22. Australia won by 19 runs. Series level.
3rd T20I, Adelaide (February 21)
India batted first and Smriti Mandhana took over.
Mandhana scored a scintillating 82 runs off 55 balls and was complemented by Jemimah Rodrigues, who scored 59 off 46 deliveries. Both batters put on a 121-run stand off 82 balls to take India to 176/6.
In reply, Australia managed to score 159/9, as India’s Shreyanka Patil and Shree Charani claimed 3 wickets each. India won by 17 runs.
This is India’s first series victory against Australia in Australia in 10 years, first time since 2016. And their second-ever bilateral T20I series win over Australia overall.
Iconic Players in the Rivalry
Best Indian Players Against Australia
Mithali Raj was the foundation everything else was built on. She is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket. Against Australia specifically, she scored in conditions and situations no one else could manage. Her 2005 ODI series captaincy opened the door.
Harmanpreet Kaur is the player who made the world pay attention. The 2017 semi-final 171 is the most famous innings in Indian women’s cricket history. She recently became the most-capped player in women’s international cricket, surpassing 355 appearances.
Smriti Mandhana is the current heartbeat of India’s batting. The Adelaide 82 in 2026 capped a series of performances against Australia that confirm she’s one of the best in the world in any conditions. Elegant, aggressive, technically correct.
Jemimah Rodrigues went from dropped during the 2025 World Cup group stage to match-winner in the semi-final with 127*. Her innings was the highest individual score for India in an ODI chase. She’s the most dangerous player in a run-chase on the planet right now.
Best Australian Players Against India
Ellyse Perry spans 3 decades of this rivalry and remains relevant in 2026. Bat, ball, athletic fielding. She’s as complete a cricketer as the sport has ever produced.
Alyssa Healy defined Australia’s batting aggression for years and retired from the international game after the 2026 tour. The 2026 tour marked the farewell series for the legendary Australian captain.
Ashleigh Gardner does everything. She’s taken wickets, scored fifties, and won matches single-handedly against India. The 3/22 in Canberra 2026 was vintage Gardner.
Beth Mooney is quiet, ruthless, and builds innings. She surpassed Meg Lanning to become Australia’s top scorer in women’s T20Is during the Canberra game.
Most Memorable Matches
2005 World Cup Final — Australia beat India by 98 runs, but India got there. Mithali Raj’s era had officially started.
2017 World Cup Semi-Final, Derby — Harmanpreet’s 171*. The innings that put women’s cricket on the front pages. India won by 36 runs.
2020 T20 World Cup Final, Melbourne — Australia 184, India 99. 86,174 people in the stands. The biggest crowd in women’s cricket history, watching one team absolutely dominate.
2021 ODI, Mackay — India broke Australia’s 26-match winning streak when Jhulan Goswami’s lofted drive off Nicola Carey sealed the win with just 4 runs needed off the final over with 2 wickets in hand. A 40-year veteran’s shot. Perfect.
2025 World Cup Semi-Final, Navi Mumbai — India chase 339 off 48.3 overs. Rodrigues 127*. Harmanpreet 89. Australia’s 15-match winning streak at Women’s ODI World Cups ended. The greatest run chase in women’s ODI history.
2026 T20I Series, Australia — India win 2-1 on Australian soil. First series win Down Under in a decade.
Key Records and Statistics
Highest successful run chase in women’s ODIs: India chasing 339 vs Australia in the 2025 World Cup semi-final. Jemimah Rodrigues’ 127 off 134 deliveries powered India to that record total.
Largest crowd for a women’s cricket match: 86,174 at Melbourne Cricket Ground, 2020 T20 World Cup Final, Australia vs India.
Most impactful bowling spell in the 2026 series: Arundhati Reddy’s 4/22 in Sydney, which dismantled Australia for 133.
Most T20I runs for Australia vs India: Beth Mooney leads Australia’s all-time T20I run-scorers after surpassing Meg Lanning in February 2026.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s 171:* Still the highest individual score in a Women’s World Cup knockout match by an Indian.
How the Rivalry Has Evolved
For most of its history, this wasn’t really a rivalry. It was a mismatch with occasional bright spots for India.
Australia had the system. The funding. The domestic competition that produced Test-ready players year after year. India had talent and very little else until 2006, when the BCCI formally took over women’s cricket.
Everything changed after 2006. Contracts, match fees, the Women’s IPL, coaching infrastructure. India started producing batters who could build innings against quality pace attacks, not just spin-friendly home conditions.
The 2017 Harmanpreet innings was the announcement. The 2021 Mackay win broke the streak. The 2025 World Cup semi-final was the statement. And the 2026 T20 series win in Australia was the proof that it wasn’t a one-off.
India won the 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup, defeating South Africa in the final in Navi Mumbai. In the semi-final, they chased a target of 339 against Australia, which is the highest successful run chase in the history of women’s ODIs.
Australia remain the benchmark. Australia remains the most successful team in women’s cricket history, with their depth in both batting and bowling allowing them to maintain dominance in international cricket for years.
But India don’t look up at Australia the way they used to.
Future of the Rivalry
Both teams have the T20 World Cup and future ICC events on the horizon. The bilateral landscape is shifting too, with India winning their first T20 series Down Under in a decade suggesting they can now compete on any ground, in any conditions.
Young players to watch:
Georgia Voll’s 88 in Canberra announced her as a top-order anchor for Australia for the next decade. She’s 23, bats beautifully, and builds innings. Phoebe Litchfield already has a World Cup century to her name.
For India, Shreyanka Patil and Shree Charani both took 3 wickets each in Adelaide. Arundhati Reddy’s pace is genuine. The bowling attack is getting younger and faster.
What to expect: These sides will meet in every major ICC tournament going forward. India now win away bilateral series. Australia still dominate ODIs. The next frontier for India is a bilateral ODI series win against Australia, which has never happened.
The gap between these teams is the smallest it’s ever been. And cricket is better for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the head-to-head record between India Women and Australia Women?
Australia currently leads the T20I head-to-head record 26-8 against India. In ODIs, Australia lead 43-10 from 53 matches. In Tests, Australia lead 4-1 with 6 draws. Overall, Australia hold a comfortable advantage across all formats, though the gap has been narrowing through 2025 and 2026.
When did India Women first beat Australia Women?
India and Australia have been meeting since the 1970s and 1980s in ODI cricket. In 2005, India won an ODI series against Australia on home soil: their first-ever series victory over Australia in any format.
Who has scored the most runs in the rivalry?
Mithali Raj, as India’s all-time leading run-scorer, holds the most aggregate runs for India against Australia across all formats. For Australia, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy have been the most prolific across the rivalry’s modern era.
What was the biggest victory in the rivalry?
Australia’s 85-run win in the 2020 T20 World Cup Final at Melbourne is arguably the most decisive in a major match, though ODI victories by Australia have often been by larger margins earlier in the rivalry.
Which is the most memorable India Women vs Australia Women match?
The 2025 World Cup semi-final at Navi Mumbai takes it. India chased 339 in 48.3 overs, with Jemimah Rodrigues scoring 127 not out off 134 deliveries, ending Australia’s 15-match winning streak at Women’s ODI World Cups. The highest successful run chase in women’s ODI history. In a World Cup knockout. Against the best team in the world.
