The Indian women’s cricket team kept its date with history by winning its first-ever ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup with a 52-run victory over South Africa. The Women in Blue, playing before a packed stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, scripted a golden chapter in the country’s book of sporting achievements.
The Indian win came at the stroke of midnight as the South Africans, chasing 299 runs, were bowled out, and the crowd erupted in celebration.
Shafali Verma, the 21-year-old who until last week was not even in the reserves, created memories of a lifetime by scoring 87 in India’s 298 for 7, and then grabbed a couple of crucial wickets to restrict the Proteas Women to 246 in front of a packed DY Patil Stadium.
The seasoned Deepti Sharma (5/39) and young Shree Charani (1/48) also did their bit under extreme pressure to usher in the most memorable day for Indian women’s cricket.
If 25 June 1983 was a watershed moment for Indian men’s cricket, when Kapil’s Devils beat the mighty West Indies at Lord’s, then 2 November 2025 will be a seminal date for Indian women’s cricket.
Rohit Sharma, who has risen to the top of the global ODI rankings for batsmen, was watching Sunday’s final from the stands with a prayer on his lips.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who has done way more for Indian women’s cricket than anyone can imagine, knows how much it hurts to lose a final — as it happened eight summers back — and this time, her girls did not let her down.
As she latched on to Nadine de Klerk’s offering while back-pedalling at extra cover, Ian Bishop fittingly called the moment “inspiring generations”.
It could not have been more poetic with AR Rahman’s rendition of Vande Mataram reverberating across the stands.
At the other end was the regal Laura Wolvaardt, who gave everything by scoring 101 off 98 balls.
For head coach Amol Muzumdar, the ‘Nearly Man’ of Indian cricket, who could not wear the whites that he richly deserved, this global triumph with the women’s national team would certainly heal those wounds that he has carried for years.
This is not just another World Cup triumph, but something whose social impact will only be understood maybe two decades from now.
Eleven special women, led by their firebrand skipper, from now on are not just role models, but also a beacon of hope for every girl from Kashmir to Kanyakumari who aspires to pick up the willow and the white cherry, knowing that the sky is the limit.
