Follow UsIndian women created history, and it was created at the stroke of midnight when they defeated South Africa in the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, held at the Dr Dy Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on November 2 (Sunday). They won the match by 52 runs to lift their first ever ICC Trophy in the history of Indian women’s cricket.
Shafali Verma, who was initially not part of the Indian team, was called into the squad, after the chosen opener Pratika Rawal got injured during the last league match of the tournament against Bangladesh.
After making her entry into the side, Shafali failed to make a big impact in the semi-final against Australia. But when it mattered the most, she shone big time with her 78-ball 87 and also picked up two crucial wickets in the second innings
Talking about her surreal journey, from not being part of the side to becoming player of the match in the final, Shafali said, “God sent me to do something good. And today that was reflected. And I am very happy that we finally won the World Cup. I can't express it in words.”
Apart from Shafali, several other players shared their reactions to the World Cup final. Here’s who said what after India beat South Africa to win the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025:
Harmanpreet Kaur: I’m just so grateful for this crowd. They have been amazing. Thank you, everyone, for supporting us through all the ups and downs. And a special thanks to my dad – I almost forgot him – our selectors, and everyone back home. Thank you so much. Even after those three losses, we always had that belief. Credit to every single member. They stayed positive, focused, and gave everything day and night. This team truly deserves to be here.
Laura Wolvaardt: It's unfortunate to be on the losing side today, but I’m sure we’ll definitely grow from this as a group. I think we did so well to put those couple of bad games behind us. We were either really good or really bad, but thankfully there was a lot more really good throughout this tournament. There were so many different players stepping up. It’s been an amazing tournament for a lot of them, and I’m just really proud of the resilience we showed to make it all the way to the final.
Deepti Sharma, Player of the Tournament: I had to play according to the situation today and I enjoyed my role with both bat and ball. We have won the World Cup. There have been a lot of changes since 2017. And I would like to say that the number of matches and the standards have gone up. I just wanted to say that I would like to dedicate this trophy to my mom and dad.
Amol Muzumdar, Head coach, India: They deserve everything that will follow from here because they've worked terribly hard. I know for a fact that they've done every Indian extremely proud. I think it's a watershed moment for Indian cricket. I couldn't have asked for more
Smriti Mandhana: I haven't been emotional on a cricket field, but yeah, I mean, this is a very unreal moment. Home World Cup and yeah, I mean, to be the champion in India, I mean, I just can't. I'm still not able to process it.
Pratika Rawal: This flag on my shoulder means a lot to me. And you know, being here with my team, it's just surreal. Injuries are part and parcel of the game. I'm very happy that I was a part of this team, this winning team.
Richa Ghosh: We have been waiting for this World Cup for a long time. There was a lot of pressure in the final because there were a lot of crowds and fans. I did a good performance on this occasion. That's a big thing for me. Everyone trusted me that I could go up and hit. I think that helped me a lot.
Amanjot Kaur: We have created history. This is just the start, Indian cricket is going to be at the next level. We are going to dominate all over the world in every format. Congrats to everyone around here, my family, my coaches.