India Beat South Africa in the Final of Women's World Cup: The Indian women's team defeated South Africa on Sunday to win the Women's World Cup. This is India's first World Cup win, and women's cricket has a new champion after 25 years. The Indian team became the fourth team to win the Women's World Cup, after Australia, England, and New Zealand.
India, batting first against South Africa in the final of the Women's ODI World Cup 2025, scored 298 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs. In reply, South Africa, despite a century from captain Laura Wolvaardt, could only manage 246 runs for all out in 45.3 overs.
Playing 11s of The Final Match
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh.
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
In this match, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and chose to bowl first. India, batting first, got off to a good start with Shefali Verma and Smriti Mandhana. They shared a 104-run opening partnership. Smriti scored 45 off 58 balls. Verma missed a chance to score a century, but she made 87 off 78 balls. Shefali hit seven fours and two sixes in her best ODI innings. Jemimah, who had scored a century in the previous match, managed only 24 off 37 balls. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was clean bowled after scoring 20 off 29 balls. Amanjot scored 12 off 14 balls. Richa Ghosh scored 34 runs. Deepti Sharma was run out on 58. For South Africa, Ayabonga Khaka took three wickets, while Nonkululeko Mlaba, Nadine de Klerk, and Chole Troyen each took one wicket.
Chasing the target of 299 runs, South Africa team got off to a good start. Brits was run out on the score of 23. Bosch returned to the pavilion without opening the account. Luus was out after scoring 25 runs in 31 balls. Shefali sent her to the pavilion. Marizanne Kapp could score only four runs in 5 balls. Deepti dismissed Jafta. She scored 16 runs. Dirksen was out after scoring 35 runs in 37 balls. Captain Laura Wolvaardt was out after scoring 101 runs in 98 balls. Amanjot Kaur took a brilliant catch of her. Tryon could score only nine runs in 8 balls. Deepti made India the champion by dismissing de Klerk. Deepti Sharma took five wickets in the final.
Indian Prime Minister congratulated team India on social media “a spectacular win by the Indian team” and praised the players for displaying remarkable skill, composure, and team spirit throughout the tournament.
“Their performance in the final was marked by great skill and confidence. The team showed exceptional teamwork and tenacity throughout the tournament. Congratulations to our players. This historic win will motivate future champions to take up sports,” he wrote.
The victory marked culmination of years of perseverance for the Indian women’s team, which had faced heartbreak in several previous tournaments. After runner-up finishes in the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup and 2020 T20 World Cup, and semifinal exits in 2018 and 2023, India finally crossed the finish line to lift their first-ever world championship.
Player of the Match: Shafali Verma was named Player of the Match in the final. She played a brilliant innings of 87 runs off 78 balls. She also performed brilliantly with the ball, taking two wickets.
Player of the Tournament: Indian women's cricket team all-rounder Deepti Sharma was named Player of the Tournament for her 22 wickets and 215 runs in the tournament. She also scored 58 runs in the final and took five wickets for 39 runs.
