India’s women’s cricket team created history on November 2. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to win their first Women’s World Cup title.

Harmanpreet caught Nadine de Klerk off Deepti Sharma’s bowling to seal the win. The crowd erupted in joy as players hugged each other and celebrated their hard-fought victory.

After the match, the Indian team lifted the trophy but made sure to thank those who came before them. Harmanpreet and her teammates handed the trophy to Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, and Anjum Chopra to honour their contribution to Indian women’s cricket.

Tribute to Legends

Mithali and Jhulan were present in the commentary box during the final. They had faced heartbreak in the 2005 and 2017 World Cups. This time, they watched India finally achieve what they had once come close to.

Harmanpreet said the players had planned this tribute long ago.

“The last time, back in 2022, when we returned after the World Cup, all of us were really sad. We knew that it was the last World Cup for Jhulan di and Mithali di. Smriti and I were sitting and talking, we were sad that we couldn’t deliver it for them,” she said on the ICC Review.

“But we had decided that whenever we do it in the future, we will make sure that they would be in the stadium. We really want to capture that moment with them. Not only them, Diana (Edulji) ma’am was continuously messaging. Shubhangi (Kulkarni) ma’am, Sudha (Shah) ma’am, who was our coach when I made my debut," she added.

Special Moment of Glory

Harmanpreet became the third Indian captain to win an ODI World Cup after Kapil Dev (1983) and MS Dhoni (2011). She said sharing this victory with India’s pioneers made it unforgettable.

“Everybody was there. To share this moment with them was something really special to us. And whenever we were dreaming and visualising, they were actually with us. We didn’t think of this moment without them," she said.

India’s All-Round Show

India dominated the final with an all-round display. Deepti Sharma took five wickets to destroy South Africa’s chase. Shafali Verma played a vital knock of 87 runs and also picked up two wickets.

India combined skill and determination to produce a complete performance. The victory ended years of waiting and marked a new chapter in Indian women’s cricket.