Smriti Mandhana's Emotional Revelation About 2025 World Cup Disappointment
Indian cricket vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has opened up about the intense emotional pressure she experienced during the 2025 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, particularly following a heartbreaking loss to England that left her unable to speak to anyone during a team flight.
The Crushing Defeat Against England
During India's 2025 World Cup campaign, the team faced a challenging phase midway through the tournament, suffering three consecutive losses. The third defeat in this difficult stretch came against England in a match where India appeared positioned for a comfortable victory but ultimately fell short by just four runs.
Mandhana, who had scored 88 runs in that crucial encounter, got out at a pivotal moment that triggered a batting collapse. "The England game, I was the most disappointed with myself," Mandhana confessed during her appearance on the RCB Podcast. "I thought why did I play that shot. The next day we had a flight and in the whole flight I was just disappointed. That was the only time I could not speak to anyone."
Battling Personal and Team Pressure
The star batter revealed she entered the World Cup with excellent form but struggled during the initial matches. "I came into the World Cup with amazing form. The first three matches did not go as planned," she explained. "In one-day cricket, I pride myself not to get out in those first ten overs. I remember we lost to South Africa and I had that conversation with myself about what I did wrong."
Mandhana described her mental state during this period: "I was stressing a lot. It was the most pressure I had felt. I told myself not qualifying in a home World Cup will do really bad to women's cricket in India and will take us 20 years back. I was stressing the whole night before the New Zealand game."
Triumph Over Adversity
Despite the emotional turmoil, Mandhana channeled her disappointment into a remarkable performance against New Zealand, scoring a blistering 109 runs from just 95 balls in what she described as a "special" innings considering the match's importance and surrounding noise.
"There are some reserved trolls for women who keep coming back," Mandhana noted about the criticism women cricketers face. "But for us as a team, we prepped so well. What people talk changes overnight. As a team, we were just helping each other. It was eating me up that we cannot not qualify for the semi-finals of a home World Cup."
The cricketer's candid revelations highlight the immense pressure elite athletes face during major tournaments, particularly when representing their country on home soil. Her ability to overcome personal disappointment and deliver a match-winning performance demonstrates the mental resilience required at the highest levels of international cricket.
