The Game Born Anew: Victory for the Women in Blue

Kapil Dev. M.S. Dhoni. Rohit Sharma. And now Harmanpreet Kaur.

The story of Indian cricket had found its newest chapter, perhaps its most powerful one yet. As the final catch settled safely into the hands of the Indian captain, a fitting finish to their rollercoaster tournament on this rain-kissed Sunday evening, the 45,000-strong sea of blue at the DY Patil Stadium in the city of dreams rose to its feet. The celebration shook the stands. History had been made. Since the inauguration of the ICC Women’s World Cup in 1973, India had never lifted the trophy. Until now. Until the second day of November, when they defeated South Africa to be crowned champions.

This World Cup was historic in more ways than one. The tournament featured the most 300-plus scores in any edition, record-breaking chases, and shattered viewership numbers, with the final equaling the viewership of the Men’s T20 World Cup Final. And for the first time, the Women's World Cup final did not feature Australia or England. Let that sink in. To defeat those two juggernauts required something magical, and both India and South Africa produced precisely that in the semi-finals.

India’s journey to glory was far from smooth sailing. After a three-match slump, losing to South Africa, Australia, and England on the trot, their campaign seemed to be slipping away just when they needed momentum the most. Pratika Rawal, who had been exceptional at the top alongside Smriti Mandhana, suffered an ankle injury while fielding in India’s final league-stage match against Bangladesh, adding to the woes of the Indian side. They scraped into the knockouts in fourth place, having lost to every team above them on the table. The odds were stacked against them, and to make matters worse, their semi-final opponent was the defending champion, Australia, who were unbeaten in the tournament so far, riding a 15-match winning streak in World Cups. If all this wasn’t enough, India watched Australia pull off a record-breaking chase against them in the group stage, chasing 330 with an over to spare! But little did anyone know, India had their own share of record-breaking left to do.

Enter Jemimah Rodrigues. 

What followed was a game that will go down in history as the match of the tournament. Jemimah, who had been dropped from the 2022 World Cup squad and began this year's tournament with a string of low scores, produced arguably one of the greatest innings in Indian cricket history. Chasing a daunting 339 after Litchfield’s century, India found themselves at 59 for 2, with Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana back in the pavilion, having not made much of an impact. That’s when Jemimah, who was initially told she would bat at No. 5 just minutes before coming in, smashed 14 boundaries in a career-best ODI innings. Her brilliant 127 off 134 balls helped India script the highest successful run chase in Women’s ODI history.

At the other end, she was supported by her captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, and the pair put up a 167-run partnership for the third wicket, the third-highest partnership in an ODI World Cup knockout. A blinder from Ashleigh Gardner finally broke the stand, and everyone had their hearts in their mouths as the game seemed to be hanging by a thread. India still needed 112 runs off 15 overs. With Mumbai’s humidity beginning to take a toll on Jemimah, she battled cramps and a fiery blow to the thumb off King’s bowling. But as it so often happens, fortune favours the brave, and a couple of dropped chances for Jemimah, along with crucial cameos from Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh, sealed India’s place in the World Cup final. Redemption was complete.

Jemimah after her match-winning knock against Australia in the semis (Source: ICC/Getty Images)

As for South Africa, they had prevailed over England with Laura Woolverdart, the highest run scorer of the tournament, smashing an epic 169 of 143 balls, in an innings with 4 sixes to put up 319 in 50 overs. England had to do some record-breaking to pull off their highest-ever ODI chase to secure their spot in the finals, but were ultimately undone by a brilliant 5-fer from veteran Marzinanne Kapp, who took out the England top order. Valiant half-centuries from Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsely were far from enough to push them across the finish line.

The finals were set, and the world was guaranteed a new champion. Both India and South Africa entered the finals on the back of stunning victories, and with rain forecast to play spoilsport, it promised to be a game of uncertainty and drama. South Africa won the toss and chose to put India to bat, even though historically, teams chasing in the final had only won 4 out of 12 occasions. Yet, with the threat of dew looming over the game, it seemed like a bad toss to lose for the Indians. As fate would have it, the notorious Mumbai dew didn’t end up playing a major factor.

The pitch was slow and the ball gripped into the surface, making scoring difficult. However, Shafali Verma, a wildcard entry for whom South Africa clearly didn’t have any plans, got India off to a flier. Having been called up only a couple of days ago as an injury replacement for Pratika Rawal (who finished as the 4th highest run-getter), she had big boots to fill, but the youngster showed no signs of pressure. In an innings packed with power and flair, she smashed seven 4’s and two 6’s at a strike rate of over 110, before falling for 87, just missing out on her century. At the other end, Smrithi Mandhana (who finished as the 2nd highest run scorer) did what she did best, providing calmness and an anchor at the crease, and together the two powered India to their highest powerplay score of 64.

A promising start for India seemed to slowly wither as Jemimah and Harmanpreet couldn't convert their small starts nor repeat their semis heroics as Nonkululeko Mlaba and Nadine de Klerk kept the Indian batters silent. Deepti Sharma’s 58-run cameo proved just enough as India inched towards 298, a total that, if it had to be chased down, would have to be the highest in a final. But given the sublime form of the South African captain and that this was the same ground India had witnessed their highest run chase, the ghosts of the day before seemed to keep South Africa within reach.

South Africa didn’t quite get off to the same explosive start as the Indians, despite Laura Wolvaardt continuing where she left off in the semis. She scored another century, breaking Alyssa Healy's record of the most runs ever in an edition of the World Cup. But, unfortunately, Wolvaardt’s brilliance wasn’t enough, as she was left without support from the other end. Some tight bowling from Renuka Thakur and Deepti Sharma’s (the highest wicket taker with 22 wickets) magical spell of 5/39 in 9.3 overs put the brakes on the South African chase. Deepti’s magical bowling performance made her the first player with a half-century and a five-wicket haul in both a men's and women's ODI final. 

Shafali Varma celebrates her first dismissal of the ICC Women’s World Cup Final 2025 with captain Harmanpreet Kaur (Source: AP)

Unexpected help came in the bowling department from Shafali Verma, who seemed like everything she touched turned to gold. Despite having only bowled 15 overs before this match in ODIs, Shafali Verma surprised South Africa by picking up the two crucial wickets of the experienced Sune Lus and Marizanne Kapp. At 220/7 at the end of 41.1 overs, the elusive dream seemed to be coming to an end, and India finally sealed the final nail on the coffin, bowling South Africa all out 52 runs short of the target.

This World Cup victory marked a generational shift for women’s cricket in India. Of the fifteen players on the team, ten of them were playing their first World Cup. Pratika Rawal, who finished with an average of 77.7, was replaced by an equally impressive Shafali Verma, who produced a match-winning knock in the finals. Similarly, the likes of Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani (finished as the fourth-highest wicket-taker), who both made their debuts this year and have become such an integral part of this team, are a testament to the depth of talent India has. To echo the words of Harmanpreet Kaur in the post-match presentation, “This is just the beginning,” and one can hope that the next generation of young stars can continue carrying the torch forward.

For South Africa, the dream of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup remains unfinished. With all-rounder Kapp playing her last World Cup, it will be interesting to see how the team shapes up without her. Their loss is surely a tough one to swallow, but they should keep their heads held high, for while the trophy was painted blue, the canvas of the game grew larger than ever. Fans queued outside stadiums, tickets sold out, and the excitement with 5.3 crore concurrent viewers shows just how far women’s cricket has come. That this victory came for India, which has been a fulcrum of propelling women's cricket with the launch of WPL, could well be the impetus to push the game into a bold new era that could redefine and reframe public consensus and traditional beliefs on what the women’s game promises.

Source: ICC/Getty Images

As a young girl, despite growing up in a household where cricket was constantly running on the TV, I’d hardly ever watched a women's cricket game. But watching almost every game this World Cup, it felt different. It felt as if the push for seemingly small changes over the years, like commentators switching from using the term ‘batsman’ to ‘batter,’ is slowly penetrating the traditional framework of how the game is perceived. Family, friends and people around me were mimicking the change. It felt like the language around cricket was finally catching up, and that, in itself, was a sign of change.

The BCCI’s move towards introducing equal pay between the men’s and women’s games in 2022 is a step forward, but it raises the question: Is it truly parity in every sense? The BCCI has announced a ₹50 crore prize for the women’s World Cup win, while the men received ₹125 crore last year. The difference says a lot about how far the women’s game still has to go and exposes the deep-rooted, inherited inequalities that continue to plague the richest cricket board.

Deepti Sharma, after being crowned Player of the Tournament, expressed her desire for an increased number of matches and series, highlighting that opportunity and visibility remain the real scarcity for the women’s game. It's tempting to compare this to the men’s 1983 World Cup in terms of laying the foundation for the game, but the struggles are vastly different. Moreover, to do so would be to fall into the same system that asserts the superiority of the men’s game over the women’s. Franchise cricket has done wonders for the men’s game, and transforming the WPL into something on the same scale as the IPL, with WPL teams announcing player retention and the mega auction coming up later this month, seems like an exciting prospect for building on the momentum and keeping the ball rolling.

After a month full of action, the Women in Blue can finally go to sleep with a big smile on their faces tonight. But every fan of this beautiful game can also rest knowing that the future of women’s cricket is in good hands. Harmanpreet took to Instagram the iconic pose of lying in bed with the trophy, wearing a t-shirt that summed up exactly what this World Cup showed us: “Cricket is a gentleman's everyone's game.” And today, somewhere, a little girl is going to sleep not with a Sachin jersey, not with a Rohit jersey, but with a Harmanpreet jersey, knowing she no longer has to dream quietly, knowing she can wear that jersey with pride, knowing she too can believe that she can play cricket for India.