Ahead of Australia's crucial T20 World Cup showdown against India at Lord's on Saturday, take a look back at some classic contests between the two sides
Eleven World Cup classics between Australia and India
This weekend's Australia vs India clash at the T20 World Cup will shape the semi-finals, and potentially eliminate one of the game's powerhouses. It is, without doubt, the biggest match of the tournament so far. To prepare for the Lord's blockbuster, let us re-visit some of the classic World Cup matches between these fierce rivals.
It seems like every time these teams meet at an ICC tournament, another section gets added to this list - so strap in!
2005 ODI World Cup final
Australia's bid for a fifth World Cup title in the 2005 tournament in South Africa pitted them against a first-time finalist, India.
Belinda Clark's team had been dominant through the tournament, winning five of their seven round-robin games with their other two washed out, including their showdown with India.
Batting first in Centurion, Clark and Lisa Keightley departed cheaply, but a superb unbeaten 107 from first-drop Karen Rolton and 55 from Lisa Sthalekar saw Australia to 4-215, a reasonable score given just six first-innings totals above 200 had been posted previously in the tournament.
India – who were led by captain Mithali Raj while Jhulan Goswami took the new ball – struggled to build partnerships in reply.
Opener Anju Jain top-scored with 29, while Mithali was trapped lbw by current Australia head coach Shelley Nitschke, as India were bowled out for 117 in 46 overs to see Australia lift the title.
2009 ODI World Cup: Super Sixes and third-place playoff
Current stars Ellyse Perry and Harmanpreet Kaur as well as Aussie coach Nitschke were all involved as Australia and India went head-to-head twice in the 2009 World Cup, and both results were telling as Australia recorded their poorest result at a global event, despite hosting the tournament.
Rolton's team were already facing a battle to finish in the top two of the Super Sixes and claim their spot in the final having lost their opening group-stage match to New Zealand, but their 16-run loss to India at North Sydney Oval ended their hopes.
Anjum Chopra's 76 and Raj's 44 helped India to 5-234, before Australia were kept to 7-218 despite a half-century from Alex Blackwell.
Then, Australia's hopes of salvaging some pride in the third-place playoff were again dashed by the Indians.
Batting first in a rain-reduced 46-over-a-side match, the Aussies were restricted to 142 thanks largely to Goswami's 2-21, which included the prized wicket of opener Leah Poulton. Sthalekar's 3-23 was not enough to stop India in reply, as they reached their target with three wickets in hand and 2.1 overs to spare.
2017 ODI World Cup semi-final
This was the 'crucible moment' that forced Australia to reassess everything in their system, from their selection to their team culture and everything in between.
Meg Lanning's team were the favourites to lift the trophy and advanced relatively untroubled through the round-robin stage, with just one narrow defeat to hosts, England.
They had accounted for India by eight wickets in Bristol earlier in the World Cup, but on a gloomy day in Derby, Harmanpreet Kaur unleashed on Australia's bowlers.
Kaur's unbeaten 171 powered India to 4-281 from a reduced 42 overs, before a pearler of a delivery from Goswami bowled Lanning for a duck early in the reply.
Alex Blackwell's valiant 90 off 56 deliveries was not enough as India won by 36 runs, securing their place in the final against England at Lord's.
2020 T20 World Cup: Opening game and the final
India shocked Australia in the opening game of the 2020 T20 World Cup in Sydney, with Poonam Yadav running through a star-studded batting line-up to secure a 17-run win.
It continued a trend of India getting the better of their rivals at global events; they had followed their 2017 one-day semi-final victory with an emphatic 48-run win during the group stage of the 2018 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, although Australia had the last laugh at that event, beating England in the final.
In 2020, Australia were already under immense pressure to advance as the home side, defending champions and firm favourites, and their first-up loss left them needing to win their three remaining matches to advance to the semi-finals.
It took some fight, and a fair dash of luck with the Sydney weather in the semi-final, but they got through to set up a blockbuster final against India at the MCG.
In front of 86,174 fans, Australia were dominant with blistering knocks from Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy powering their side to 4-184, before India were bowled out for just 99.
2022 Commonwealth Games: Gold medal match
Okay, so this technically isn't a World Cup, but it was a major tournament.
If the opening clash between these rivals in Birmingham wasn't scintillating enough – Australia fighting back from 5-49 courtesy of a brilliant partnership between Ashleigh Gardner and Grace Harris – the gold medal match delivered another classic.
The drama at Edgbaston had started before a ball was bowled; allrounder Tahlia McGrath tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before the match and her participation had to be cleared before she could be named in the XI.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur had threatened to become the source of nightmares for Australia once again, smashing a 43-ball 65 to give her side every chance of reaching their target of 162 and securing a maiden title at a major women's tournament.
But Australia held their nerve with the ball and in the field at the death, as India lost 8-34 to be bowled out for 152 in the final over.
India had needed 11 runs off the final over with two wickets in hand, but veteran spinner Jess Jonassen delivered a dot, before a desperate attempt to run two – and keep concussion replacement Yastika Bhatia on strike – produced a run out.
Jonassen then got Bhatia lbw next ball, sealing the historic match for Australia, giving them a trifecta of major titles, with Games gold adding to the ODI and T20 World Cups they already possessed.
2023 T20 World Cup: semi-final
Australia kept their dreams of a T20 World Cup three-peat alive after a remarkable fightback with the ball secured a thrilling five-run semi-final victory over India at Newlands.
Harmanpreet Kaur (52 off 34) once again threatened to emerge as Australia's semi-final tormentor, hammering a quickfire half-century to put her team on track to reel in Australia's 4-172.
But two key wickets for Darcie Brown (2-18) and Kaur's bizarre run out with her team 40 runs shy of a spot in the tournament final – a game-turning moment that saw the fuming India captain heave her bat across the outfield in disgust – gave Australia a sniff and the reigning champions grabbed it with both hands.
A superb display at the death with the ball from spinners Jess Jonassen (1-22) and Ashleigh Gardner (2-37) and in the field – the highlight of which was a full body dive from Ellyse Perry to slap a certain boundary back into the field of play – strangled India, who were ultimately restricted to 8-167.
2024 T20 World Cup, group stage
In Sharjah in October 2024, Australia held their nerve in a thrilling nine-run win over India to seal top spot in their group and a semi-final berth.
With captain Alyssa Healy out injured, Australia's stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath and deputy Ellyse Perry led their team to 8-151 in front of a sold-out crowd of 14,946 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
The vast majority of those fans were wearing blue, and they rode every wave of India's chase, which stalled after the loss of their top three in the first 6.5 overs, only to be reignited as Harmanpreet Kaur (54no from 47) stormed home with a 44-ball half-century.
Like so many blockbuster matches between these fierce foes, it came down to a battle of Australia v Harmanpreet.
From a precarious position needing 53 runs from the final five overs, Harmanpreet smacked 25 from the next 14 balls she faced to reduce that margin significantly, aided by Deepti Sharma's 29 from 25.
A clutch 17th over from Megan Schutt, that went for a single run and included the brilliant direct hit run out of Richa Ghosh from the arm of Phoebe Litchfield, briefly stemmed the tide, before India's skipper struck three more boundaries to leave 14 runs required from the last.
McGrath threw the ball to Annabel Sutherland – who had celebrated her 23rd birthday a day earlier – and she duly produced a poised final over beyond her years.
Harmanpreet couldn't clear the inner ring first ball, and found herself off strike, then Sutherland bowled Pooja Vastrakar with her next.
Arundhati Reddy was run out getting her captain back on strike, but when Harmanpreet could only manage another single, Sutherland closed out another thrilling win for Australia over India.
2025 ODI World Cup, round-robin stage
This time it was Alyssa Healy's drought-breaking century that paved the way to a world record ODI run chase, as Australia reeled in a mammoth target of 331 with an over to spare in Visakhapatnam.
An instant classic that swung throughout came down to the penultimate over at the ACA-VDCA Stadium.
With six runs needed from the final seven deliveries and three wickets in hand, Ellyse Perry – who had earlier retired hurt due to cramp and then returned to the middle in the 45th over with her team six wickets down – spanked a flat six down the ground to seal a famous win.
Australia bettered the previous highest successful chase in women's one-dayers, Sri Lanka's 4-305 against South Africa six months earlier in April 2025.
Smriti Mandhana (80 from 66) had led the way in India's 330 all out in excellent batting conditions, while Annabel Sutherland's 5-40 reined in what could have been a far larger total.
Healy's superb 107-ball 142, her first century in any format since the 2022 World Cup final and her first as Australian captain, set the tone for the history-making chase.
2025 ODI World Cup, semi-final
A mere fortnight after Australia's record-breaking efforts in Vizag, India trumped them in the semi-final in Navi Mumbai thanks to one of the all-time greatest ODI innings from Jemimah Rodrigues.
Needing to enter uncharted territory after Phoebe Litchfield's 93-ball 119 laid the foundation for Australia's 338 all out at DY Patil Stadium, Rodrigues produced the best innings of her career, a sublime unbeaten 127 from 134, making a serious statement after being dropped by India just three matches earlier.
Australia were made to pay for dropping Rodrigues on 82 and again on 106, as the right-hander shared a crucial 167-run stand with her captain Harmanpreet Kaur (89) before India sealed victory – and booked a showdown with South Africa in the decider – with five wickets in hand and nine balls to spare.
In doing so, they set a new standard for the highest successful chase in women's ODIs, toppling the record 331 Australia had set just two weeks earlier in Visakhapatnam.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026
Australia squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson
Australia's Group 1 fixtures
June 13: beat South Africa by 65 runs
June 17: beat Bangladesh by nine wickets
June 20: beat Netherlands by 98 runs
June 24: beat Pakistan by 113 runs
June 28: v India, Lord's, London, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 1: The Oval, London, June 30, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 2: The Oval, London, July 2 (3:30am July 3 AEST)
Final: Lord's, London, July 5, 11:30pm AEST
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon's Prime Video