Navi Mumbai – Yesterday, 45,000 Indian fans at D.Y. Patil stadium in Mumbai witnessed our desi girls becoming the World Cup champions at midnight. Defeating South Africa by 52 runs, the Indian women’s team wiped out South Africa in 246 runs. Taking 2 wickets, Shefali Verma scored an outstanding 87 runs in 78 balls, the highest run by an Indian batter in the World Cup final – men or women, ODI or T2OI. Deepti Sharma also becomes the heartthrob by taking 5 wickets and scoring 58 runs off 58 balls. The happy tears finally appeared when Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur took the catch of South African big-hitter Nadine de Klerk at extra cover.

This November 2025, healed Indian fans with the biggest victory of the Indian women’s cricket team. South Africa chose to bowl after winning the toss. Smriti Mandhana (45, 58b, 8x4) and Richa Ghosh (34, 3x4, 2x6) strongly supported the classic batting performances by Shefali Verma. She hit 7 fours and 2 sixes in total. This is her 5th half-century in this tournament. Additionally, Deepti Sharma’s rigid batting, scoring the 18th ODI half-century, met her spellbinding bowling in the 299-run chase by South Africa. However, Khaka sent Shefali back to the pavilion while Mlaba castled skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

South African skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, captivated audiences with her 101 run out of 98 balls. Her presence in the field was thumping for Indian fans’ hearts, but Deepti Sherma came to the rescue. Wolvaardt lifted the ball high, and Amanjot Kaur’s struggling catch moved the rock out of Indian’s heart. Shefali Verma broke the partnership of Wolvaardt and Annerie Drecksen by removing Drecksen at 35 runs. Deepti Sharma became the ‘Player of the Tournament’ with a total of 215 runs and the highest wicket-taker (20) in this tournament. The ‘Player of the Match’ is bestowed upon Verma.

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar posted on X handle, saying Indian women players, “have inspired countless young girls across the country to pick up a bat and ball, take the field that they too can lift that trophy one day.” Truly, this victory marks a ‘generational shift’ in the Indian women's cricket team history after the losses in 2005 and 2017. They set an exemplar that defies the gender barriers in all respects, be it on-field and off-field.