India lift maiden Women's World Cup in front of home crowd

Opener Shafali Verma struck 87 and picked up two wickets to help lead India to a comprehensive 52-run win over South Africa. Allrounder Deepti Sharma also claimed a five-wicket haul in the sold-out final in Mumbai.

India lifted their maiden Women's World Cup title as Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma starred to help the hosts secure a 52-run victory over South Africa in the sold-out final in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.

Shafali struck her highest One Day International (ODI) score of her career as her 87 helped the home side post 298-7 after being asked to bat first in front of the 45,000-strong crowd. 

Having been left out of the World Cup squad, Shafali was drafted in for the semi-final victory over Australia following an injury to Pratika Rawal and the opening batter imposed herself on the final with a 49-ball half century.

Laura Wolvaardt led South Africa's reply with a captain's knock of 101 but the Proteas were bowled out for 246 in 45.3 overs.

Sharma claimed 5-39, to go with her impressive 58 knock, in a fine all-round display on a memorable night for the hosts.

How did the Indian team react? 

"We were waiting for this moment, and now this moment has come," India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said. She reflected on the triumph after facing defeats in previous few tournaments.  "Now we want to make this a habit."

Incidentally, India was the last of the four teams to qualify for the semifinals, but then beat defending champion and seven-time winner Australia by five wickets to reach the final. The win over Australia grabbed mass attention in India, where men's cricket has been center stage so far. 

"Every World Cup we’ve gone into, there have been so many heartbreaks for all of us," a teary-eyed India opener Smriti Mandhana said.

"We always believed that we had a bigger responsibility — not just to win, but to keep growing women’s cricket. Just look at the support we’ve had over the last month and a half. It’s been incredible," she said.

Prime Minister Modi hails win

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the team for its skill and confidence, in a post on X. 

"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 said.

Social media platforms were flooded with candid reactions of the players as they celebrated their first ever World Cup. 

With the victory, India joined Australia, England and New Zealand as the only countries to have won the tournament.

Edited by: Karl Sexton