India won the Women’s Cricket World Cup for the first time with a thrilling 52-run victory over South Africa in the rain-delayed final in Navi Mumbai.
Shafali Verma top-scored India with 87 off 78 balls and along with Smriti Mandhana gave India a 104-run opener, but Deepti Sharma added 58 late in the innings to make it 298-7 after losing the toss and being put into bat at the DY Patil Stadium.
South Africa fell back to 148-5 after part-time bowler Verma took two wickets and Sharma (5-39) removed Sinalo Hafta (16), but captain Laura Wolvaardt (101) scored her second consecutive ODI century to move the Proteas closer to the victory target.
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India exclude Tazmin Blitz after Amanjot Kaur’s stunning runout
Deepti also bowled Anneli Derksen (35) to end a 61-run six-wicket stand before taking the vital wickets of Wolvaard (Amanjot Kaur catch) and Chloe Tryon (9) in the next desperate attack to shift the momentum back to India.
She then ran out Ayabonga Kaka (1) and dismissed Nadine de Klerk (18), leaving South Africa for 246 in 46 overs, capping off her Player of the Match record as India celebrated a historic win.
How India made history by winning the World Cup
Co-hosts India got off to a strong start after play was delayed for two hours due to rain, racing to 50 within the first seven overs and putting on a 104-run first-wicket stand that ended with Smriti Mandhana, 45, beating Tryon and closing in on Jafta.
With India looking set to score big, Verma was dropped by Anneke Bosch at deep mid-wicket for 56, but was caught by Sune Ruth off Kaka and stumbled mid-innings, falling from 166-1 to 245-5.
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India were the first to fall after Smriti Mandhana gave a strong start to the innings.
Kaka also removed Jemima Rodrigues (24) with a sharp low catch from Wolvaardt, Harmanpreet Kaur (20) was bowled by Nonkululeko Mlaba and Amanjot Kaur (12) was caught and bowled by De Klerk as South Africa fought back.
Sharma steadied the innings with 58 runs-a-ball and added 47 runs with Richa Ghosh (34) for the sixth wicket, but ran out on his last delivery as India recorded the second-highest total in a World Cup final.
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South Africa dropped Verma and Sharma during India’s innings, helping them score big at home.
South Africa threatens famous chase but falls short
South Africa accelerated from a cautious start and reached 51 points without conceding when Tazmin Blitz (23) was taken out by a direct hit from Caul and shortly after Bosch trapped lbw for Shree Chalani to score.
Wolvaardt surpassed Alyssa Healy’s record for most runs in a single World Cup and completed her half-century with back-to-back goals. India then quickly picked up two wickets as Ruth chipped back to Verma and Kapp chased down the 21-year-old in the next over.
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Jafta almost got Wolvaardt out chasing a quick single, but was dismissed in the same Sharma over, picking out Yadav at short midwicket, but Derksen and Wolvaardt pushed South Africa past the 200 mark and set up a thrilling finish.
Sharma completed a brilliant century against Wolvaardt by dismissing Derksen with a stunning yorker and becoming only the second player to score 100 in a World Cup semi-final and final.
Amanjot kept Wolvaardt’s hack towards deep midwicket and had to make multiple tries to force South Africa to seven downs, with the umpire’s call to trap Tryon LBW in the same over, and shortly after Kaka ran out trying to hit a quick single.
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Watch Amanjot Kaur’s sensational catch to eliminate Laura Wolvaardt.
Around midnight local time, when de Klerk scooped the ball into the captain’s cowl, Sharma took the fifth wicket to ensure India’s victory, making India the fourth country to win the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Wolvaard: We will continue to grow as a team.
South African national team captain Laura Wolvaardt…
“I don’t think I could have been more proud of this team all season so far. We’ve played great cricket all along. Even though we lost today, I think India played great.”
“It’s disappointing to lose, but I’m confident that as a group we can improve greatly from here. I’m proud of the resilience we showed to reach the finals.”
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Harmanpreet Kaur takes a brilliant catch to seal the victory and complete Deepti Sharma’s five-wicket haul.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur…
“I’m so thankful for this crowd. They were really great. Thank you so much. Even after losing three straight, we still had faith, but we know this team is special.”
“Credit to all the guys on this team for staying positive and they deserve that recognition.”
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Amanjot Kaur gives emotional interview after team wins Women’s Cricket World Cup
Nasser: “India had too much for South Africa”
Former England captain Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports:
“It (the popularity of women’s cricket in India) was already moving in that direction with the WPL (Women’s Premier League) and the way this cricket team has played over the past few years. They just needed to put a little stamp on that deal with this tournament tonight.”
“The crowd was great and the team was great. We had a little hiccup in the middle of the tournament, but we started well and finished well. At the end of the day, we had too many players in good form compared to South Africa.”
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Nasser Hussain reflects on India’s sensational victory over South Africa in the Women’s Cricket World Cup final
“If you look at India’s line-up, there were a lot of players who were in pretty good shape by the end of the tournament. Unfortunately for South Africa, especially with the bat, they relied heavily on one or two players and that’s why they had to play an extra batsman.”
“Fair play to South Africa, they themselves played a lot of great cricket. As we have seen in this part of the world, India were just too strong. They are a very difficult team to beat in any format, male or female.”
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