NAVI MUMBAI, India \u2014 India\u2019s women made history on Sunday, lifting the Cricket World Cup for the first time after defeating South Africa by 52 runs in a thrilling final at DY Patil Stadium.<\/p>\n
Batting first after a rain delay, India posted a commanding 298-7, powered by a collective team effort led by Shafali Verma\u2019s 87 off 78, Deepti Sharma\u2019s run-a-ball 58, and Richa Ghosh\u2019s quickfire 34 off 24. Despite being on track for a 300-plus total after reaching 151-1 at the halfway mark, India\u2019s innings slowed slightly in the later overs. Still, their 298 stood as the second-highest total ever in a Women\u2019s World Cup final.<\/p>\n
In reply, South Africa\u2019s captain Laura Wolvaardt waged a lone battle, crafting a magnificent 101 off 98 balls before falling to Deepti Sharma, who starred with the ball, finishing with 5-39. South Africa were eventually bowled out for 246 in the 46th over, handing India a deserved victory and their long-awaited maiden world title.<\/p>\n
Wolvaardt\u2019s century, her second in consecutive knockout matches after her semifinal ton against England, made her only the second player to score back-to-back hundreds at this stage of the tournament \u2014 a feat first achieved by Australia\u2019s Alyssa Healy in 2022.<\/p>\n
For South Africa, this marked their first-ever World Cup final, while India were appearing in their third, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017. It was also the first women\u2019s World Cup final without Australia or England, with the former holding a record seven titles.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s opener Smriti Mandhana, who scored 45 in the final, capped a superb tournament with 434 runs, becoming India\u2019s top run-scorer in a single World Cup \u2014 surpassing Mithali Raj\u2019s 409 runs in 2017.<\/p>\n
South Africa started brightly, reaching 50 without loss by the 10th over, but the dismissal of Tazmin Brits for 23 \u2014 run out by a sharp piece of fielding from Amanjot Kaur \u2014 triggered a collapse. Sree Charani trapped Anneke Bosch LBW for a duck, and Verma struck twice in quick succession to remove Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp, leaving South Africa struggling at 123-4.<\/p>\n
From there, India tightened their grip. By the time Wolvaardt\u2019s resistance ended, the home crowd knew victory \u2014 and history \u2014 was in sight.<\/p>\n
With this triumph, Harmanpreet Kaur\u2019s side went one better than their male counterparts, who hosted the men\u2019s 2023 World Cup but fell short in the final. For India\u2019s women, the 2025 win is not just a title \u2014 it\u2019s the fulfillment of decades of promise and the dawn of a new era in women\u2019s cricket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAVI MUMBAI, India \u2014 India\u2019s women made history on Sunday, lifting the Cricket World Cup for the first time after defeating South Africa by 52 runs in a thrilling final at DY Patil Stadium. Batting first after a rain delay, India posted a commanding 298-7, powered by a collective team effort led by Shafali Verma\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-50317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-asia","category-sports-games","tag-headline"],"yoast_head":"\n