A new chapter in Indian women’s cricket was written on Sunday. India won their first-ever ICC Women’s ODI World Cup, defeating South Africa by 52 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Reflecting on the historic win, captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, “This is just the beginning.”
After the match, she shared her thoughts: “We wanted to break this barrier. Now, our next goal is to turn this success into a habit. We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. This isn’t the end; it’s just the start.”
India batted first, posting a total of 298 runs for 7 wickets. Opening batter Shefali Verma scored 87 runs, while Smriti Mandhana contributed 45 runs. In the middle order, Deepti Sharma played a crucial innings of 58 runs off balls. Deepti then rose to prominence with the ball, claiming 5 wickets. South Africa was bowled out for 246 in 45.3 overs.
Deepti’s final wicket came when she dismissed Nadine de Klerk, after which the stadium erupted in celebration. The roar of 45,000 spectators filled the air with every wicket India took.
Despite a valiant 101-run effort from South Africa’s captain, Laura Wolvaardt, her departure signalled the end of her team’s hopes. “I am proud of my team,” Wolvaardt said after the match. “We played brilliantly throughout the tournament, but today India outplayed us. We will emerge stronger from this experience.”