IND W vs SA W | Twitter on top of world as India Women lift maiden ICC World Cup after clinical win in summit clash

‌India won their first ICC Women’s title as they beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final of the ODI World Cup in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Deepti Sharma and Shafali Varma scored half-centuries to power India to a challenging total before picking up five and two wickets, respectively, to restrict the Proteas during the chase.

With rain delaying proceedings at the DY Patil Sports Academy, India Women had a watchful start with Smriti Mandhana playing out a maiden off Marizanne Kapp first up. But Shafali Verma showed no signs of nerves, getting off the mark with a boundary of her first ball. She stepped down the track to affect Kapp’s rhythm and hit the veteran medium pacer for two fours in the fifth over. At the other end, Smriti also joined party to hit consecutive boundaries of Ayabonga Khaka. The pair looked flawless, ending the powerplay at 64/0. The pace and spin duo of Nadine de Klerk and Nonkululeko Mlaba kept things quiet for sometime conceding just 22 runs in six overs but Shafali broke the shackles with a six, the first of the match, off de Klerk. The Women in Blue went past the 100-run mark with Smriti hitting Chloe Tryon over mid off in the 18th over. But the left-arm spinner had the last laugh dismissing her a ball later to break the 104-run opening stand. However, Shafali continued unperturbed reaching her fifty, off 49 balls, in the same over. She continued to find the boundaries and kept the scoreboard ticking till she departed in the 28th over. The Delhi batter scored two sixes and seven fours during her 78-ball 87 as the Indian innings slowed down post her departure. Though Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet kaur had promising starts, both departed in their 20s as India were placed at a tricky 243/5 in the 44th over. With Deepti holding one end up, it was the perfect platform for Richa Ghosh to go all out in the fag end of the innings. The wicketkeeper-batter hit two sixes and three fours during her cameo of 34 off 24 balls as the home side ended their innings at 298/7. Deepti had three fours and a six to her name, making a valuable run-a-ball 58 before getting run out in the last ball of the first essay. Medium pacer Khaka was the pick among the Proteas bowlers with figures of 3/58 in nine overs.

Chasing 299, the Proteas openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits started cautiously before finding the fence moire frequently to add 51 runs in nine overs. But against the run of play, Brits was run out by an excellent fielding effort from Amandeep Kaur in the 10th over. With left-arm spinner Shree Charani dismissing Anneke Bosch in her first over of the night, the Proteas were placed at 62/2 and in need of a partnership. Wolvaardt and Sune Luus did just that with the skipper completing her fifty, her second consecutive score of 50-plus, in style with a four off Radha Yadav. But in a surprising move, Harmanpreet introduced Shafali into the attack and the move worked wonders with the part-timer sending back Luus and the dangerous Kapp in successive overs. With wicketkeeper-batter Sinalo Jafta also returning to the dressing room shortly afterwards, South Africa slipped from a formidable 114/2 to 148/5. But all hopes of a South Africa win rested on Wolvaardt’s shoulders and she was still there going great guns from one end. She found a good accomplice in Annerie Dercksen, who added a precious 61 runs for the sixth wicket. But Deepti broke the ever-threatening stand as she yorked Dercksen to break her timber. However, the South Africa skipper completed her century, only the second women’s player after Alyssa Healy to score hundreds in both the semifinal and the final, in the same over. But the pressure of wickets falling from the other end got to the Proteas skipper as she holed out in the deep with 79 runs to be scored in the last nine overs. The Proteas hopes died down once the skipper departed after hitting 11 fours and a six in her 98-ball 101. The visitors’ innings soon closed out for 246 with 27 balls to spare, with Deepti ending with figures of 5/39 in 9.3 overs and Shafali also chipping in with two wickets.

Congrats

Congratulations team India 🇮🇳



This day will inspire generations to come. The girls did us proud. And I’m so happy to have been there, witnessing history!



💙💙💙

— DK (@DineshKarthik) 

Champions

World Champions. At the stroke of the midnight hour India awakes to history. This is a moment in time that will change the course of the women's game.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) 

Chak de India

Chak de India got real: 

— Xavier Uncle (@xavierunclelite) 

Finally

Finally, India broke the November curse 

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) 

Congratulations

Congratulations to the India womens team for finally getting over the line and realising their huge potential.

South Africa have been strong for several years now and their time will come, hold their heads high and go again.

— Erika Morris (@ErikaMorris79) 

Victory

India won the World Cup. And camera focused on Rohit Sharma. What a moment. 🥹 

— Selfless⁴⁵ (@SelflessCricket) 

That's it

RCB.

South Africa Men.

Indian Women.



That’s it. That’s the tweet. 2025 has repaid every heartbroken fan.

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) 

Redemption

Redemption arc so crazy for Deepti Sharma! 

— TheRandomCricketPhotosGuy (@RandomCricketP1) 

Champions

Champions!



Har chauke har wicket, apne Jajbe se poore desh ka dil jeet liya! Proud of our World Champion girls 🇮🇳



What a victory.  Kaur aur unki team ne poori generation ko sapna de diya jeetne ka, ladne ka, chamakne ka! 🇮🇳 

— Virrender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) 

Stories shall be told

Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, , Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Richa Ghosh Radha Yadav, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh.

Years from now, your stories shall be told, your songs will be sung,

World Cup Champions 2025!

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj)