Jemimah Rodrigues powers India past Australia into Women’s Cricket World Cup final

NAVI MUMBAI, India (AP) — Jemimah Rodrigues scored a scintillating century on home soil as India beat defending champion Australia by five wickets to reach the final of the Women’s Cricket World Cup on Thursday.

Rodrigues scored 127 not out off 134 balls, hitting 14 fours, to rally the chase home. Co-hosts India thus set up a title clash with first-time finalist South Africa at the same venue Sunday.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur scored 89 off 88 balls as the third-time finalists scored 341-5 in 48.3 overs — a record chase in Cricket World Cup knockouts, men’s or women’s.

This was after Australia won the toss and opted to bat, putting up a tall score on the board — 338 runs in 49.5 overs.

Phoebe Litchfield scored 119 off 93 balls, but her century went in vain as the seven-time champions were stopped just short of the final.

“It was really hard these last four months, not being part of the team setup," said Rodrigues, who was named player of the match.

"I didn’t know I was batting at three today, but I was happy to do the job for my team. Today was not about my century, it was all about getting India into the final. It feels like a dream and hasn’t sunk in yet.”

The defeat ended Australia’s 16-match unbeaten run in the tournament stretching back to 2022.

A new Women’s World Cup champion will be crowned — both India and South Africa are yet to lift the trophy.

India had never chased a 200-plus total in tournament history previously, and its highest successful chase against Australia was 265 in 2021.

It was a tall order from the start, as freshly inducted Shafali Verma fell for 10 runs. It was 59-2 as Smriti Mandhana was out caught for 24 off Kim Garth in the 10th over.

Rodrigues and Kaur then came together, and put on a record 167 runs for the third wicket. It was India’s highest partnership against Australia in World Cups — for any wicket.

Kaur took her time setting in, scoring 50 off 65 balls, while Rodrigues got 50 off 57 balls. It was a second half-century for Kaur in this tournament, while Rodrigues crossed 50 for the second consecutive innings.

Their stand took India past 200 and set it up for the highest chase in Women’s Cricket World Cup history. It was aided by some sloppy fielding from the defending champions.

Alyssa Healy dropped Rodrigues in the 33rd over — a simple skier spilled next to the pitch. She survived again, as Tahlia McGrath dropped Rodrigues in the 44th over again.

Kaur sped up after her 50, scoring 39 off the next 23 balls. Overall, she hit 10 fours and two sixes, but was caught in the deep. Annabel Sutherland provided the breakthrough in the 36th over, with Ashleigh Gardner taking a fine catch diving forward.

Deepti Sharma didn’t let the momentum slip — she scored 24 off 17 balls. At the other end, Rodrigues hit her third ODI century off 115 balls but didn’t celebrate at all. She became only the second batter to score a hundred in a Women’s World Cup knockout.

Those celebrations were reserved for the end — she hit 24 runs off the next 19 balls to take pressure off Amanjot Kaur (15 not out off eight balls) as India romped into a home World Cup final.

A target of 339 was the tallest chase in tournament history, surpassing Australia’s 331-run chase against India at Visakhapatnam earlier in the league stage.

It was also India’s second highest score against Australia, after it scored 369 runs in Delhi past September in the build-up to this tournament.

Australia has now lost two out of six semifinals in Women’s Cricket World Cups — both against India.

Earlier, Phoebe Litchfield scored her third ODI hundred after Healy was dismissed for five runs.

Litchfield put on 155 off 133 balls with Ellyse Perry, who scored 77 off 88 balls. The opener got to 50 off 45 balls.

It was a first half-century of the tournament for Perry, while Litchfield rallied on towards a first World Cup hundred off 77 balls. She scored her second 50 off only 32 balls — overall, Litchfield hit 17 fours and three sixes.

Australia seemed on course for a near-400 total while the duo was at the crease. Amanjot Kaur got the breakthrough in the 28th over, bowling the centurion.

It pulled back momentum for India and it struck at regular intervals to peg back the defending champions.

Gardner hit 63 off 45 balls, with four sixes, to prop up the lower-middle order after Radha Yadav had bowled Perry in the 40th over. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani picked 2-49 in 10 overs.

“We didn’t finish off well with the bat and dropped all our chances in the field," said Healy, the Australian skipper. “But we still hung in till the penultimate over, so we can take something from that. Ultimately we were outdone in the end.”

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India's players celebrate after winning the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup cricket semi final against Australia in Navi Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

India's Jemimah Rodrigues celebrates after winning the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup cricket semi final against Australia in Navi Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

India's Jemimah Rodrigues, bottom, and India's Amanjot Kaur, left, celebrates after winning the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup cricket semi final against Australia in Navi Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

India's Jemimah Rodrigues celebrates after winning the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup cricket semi final against Australia in Navi Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

India's Jemimah Rodrigues, left, and India's Amanjot Kaur celebrates after winning the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup cricket semi final against Australia in Navi Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

Jamahl Mosley was fired as coach of the Orlando Magic on Monday, paying the widely expected price after the team blew a 3-1 series lead and got eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in Round 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity pending the team announcement.

It was Orlando’s third consecutive first-round playoff exit, and easily the most disappointing. Not only did the eighth-seeded Magic lose all three chances to upset the top-seeded Pistons, but one of those games saw Orlando have a 24-point second-half lead at home and still lose. Orlando missed 23 consecutive shots in that Game 6 loss on Friday, getting booed by fans when it was over.

That loss probably was the one that sealed Mosley’s fate, even though the loss in Game 7 at Detroit on Sunday was the one that ended the season.

Mosley is the third-winningest coach in Magic history, his 189 wins behind only Brian Hill (267) and Stan Van Gundy (259). He inherited a team that was in the early stages of a rebuild, with Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs entering the league as rookies in his first season and then the Magic winning the lottery to draft Paolo Banchero No. 1 overall before Mosley’s second season.

Orlando won 22 games in Mosley’s first season, improved to 34-48 in Year 2 and has been .500 or better in all three seasons since — 47-35 in 2023-24, 41-41 last season and 45-37 this season.

That makes the Magic one of 10 teams — Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma City are the others — to have not finished below .500 in any of the last three seasons.

It wasn’t enough. And with much of the team’s core — Banchero, Wagner, Suggs, Desmond Bane and more — under contract for the foreseeable future, the Magic clearly felt the best way to shake things up was to bring in a new coach.

“It’s been absolutely amazing journey with these guys,” Mosley said. “Their ability to grow, communicate ... we’re going to fight until the final horn goes off. And that’s what you’ve seen for a majority of the five years.”

It is a roster in need of upgrading in some ways, shooting perhaps foremost among them after Orlando was only 27th in the 30-team league in 3-point percentage this season. Injuries have also been a major issue for the Magic, including in the playoffs — with Wagner unable to play in the final three games, all losses, against Detroit.

Mosley’s job security was a talking point for much of the season, especially amid reports that he and Banchero were not on the same page. In March, Banchero acknowledged that were some moments of conflict — but thought Orlando was better for going through that.

“We’re both competitors,” Banchero said when asked then about his relationship with Mosley. “There were times where I was frustrated and I wasn’t playing as well as I think I should be. But it never became me pointing the finger at him or being disrespectful. It was all constructive; he’s talking to me, I’m talking to him. And winning, it cures everything.”

Evidently, there wasn’t enough winning.

Mosley had two seasons left on an extension that he and the Magic agreed on in March 2024. The team lauded his “preparation, work ethic, ability to connect with the players and passion he brings to the job every day brings positive results, both on the court and off” when announcing that deal.

Barely two years later, he and the Magic were parting ways.

Only seven coaches have been in their current jobs longer than Mosley was with Orlando — Miami’s Erik Spoelstra (hired in 2008), Golden State’s Steve Kerr (2014), the Clippers’ Tyronn Lue (2020), Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault (2020), Minnesota’s Chris Finch (2021), Indiana’s Rick Carlisle (2021) and Dallas’ Jason Kidd (2021).

Mosley spent 15 years as an assistant in Denver, Cleveland and Dallas — and was often mentioned as a candidate for head-coaching jobs around the league over that span — before Orlando hired him. He had a long relationship with Magic basketball operations president Jeff Weltman, who first took note of Mosley when they worked together with the Nuggets.

Mosley was the 14th coach in Magic history, the 15th if counting Billy Donovan — who accepted the job in 2007, then had second thoughts and returned to the University of Florida. Donovan just left the Chicago Bulls after six seasons as their coach, which sparked speculation that he could be the frontrunner in Orlando if the Magic indeed would be moving on from Mosley.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley shouts to his team during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley directs his team against the Detroit Pistons during the first half in Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley shouts at referee Curtis Blair (74) during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)