Historic ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 kicks off in India, Sri Lanka

The 13th edition of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 officially commenced on September 30, 2025, with co-hosts India taking on Sri Lanka in the tournament opener at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

The 50-over event is set to feature 31 matches over 34 days, concluding with the final on November 2nd.

The tournament, which has eight top-ranked teams competing, is jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka for the first time, with matches scheduled across five venues.

The tournament is also being hailed as a potential “seismic moment for the women’s game” due to a record-breaking prize pool of $13.88 million, which surpasses the prize money of the men’s 2023 World Cup.

The league stage will see all eight teams: Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.

The top four teams will progress to the semi-finals on October 29th and 30th.

Following an agreement between ICC, BCCI, and PCB, all of Pakistan’s matches, including the high-profile clash against India, will be played at a neutral venue in Colombo.

The venue for the final on November 2nd will be Dr D.Y.Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, unless Pakistan qualifies, in which case the match will be held in Colombo.