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India’s 2025 triumph, just as 1983 transformed men’s cricket in India, could be the ignition for a revolution in women’s cricket.
India clinched their maiden ICC Women’s World Cup title (BCCI/X)
On November 2, 2025, the forever wait finally ended. At the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, where the crowd never stopped singing, even through the drizzle at the start, India’s women lifted their first-ever ICC trophy. A 52-run victory over South Africa, in front of a packed house and rewrote the history books
It was more than just a win. It was closure for the heartbreaks of 2005, 2017, and 2020. And on the electric night, when emotions rained as heavily as the clouds above.
Shafali Verma: The Surprise
Shafali Verma wasn’t even supposed to be there. Left out of the original squad till the league stage ended, she was brought in as a late replacement and ended up changing everything.
In sport, such fairytales are rare. Most replacements don’t even get a game; Shafali got a stage, and she owned it. With bat, with ball, and even in the field, she delivered a performance people will tell their children about. It was pure, unfiltered Shafali – fearless, untamed, and driven by a hunger.
Deepti Sharma: The Unsung Hero
For over a decade, Deepti Sharma has been Indian cricket’s quiet constant. Always there, always delivering, but rarely celebrated. Since her debut in 2014, she’s been the backbone – steady, reliable, often overlooked. But on the biggest night of her life, she took center stage.
Fifty-seven priceless runs, and then a five-wicket haul that broke South Africa’s spirit. She was calm and composed and walked away with the Player of the Tournament award for being the highest wicket-taker in the tournament and scoring 215 runs including three fifties.
Amanjot Kaur: The Catch That Caught History
Every great victory has its one immortal image. In 1983, it was Kapil Dev running back at Lord’s, clutching onto Viv Richards’ skied shot. In 2024, it was Suryakumar Yadav’s juggling act in the Caribbean and In 2025, it was Amanjot Kaur diving forward in Navi Mumbai fumbling once, twice, thrice holding on to the Laura Wolvaardt catch.
Wolvaardt, batting on 101, looked destined to take South Africa home. But Amanjot’s stubborn hands had other plans. That catch was the turning point. If Rohit Sharma’s dismissal off Travis Head in 2023 was Indian cricket’s cruellest moment, Amanjot’s grab was its sweetest revenge.
And as if that wasn’t enough, she’d already changed the match earlier with a lightning throw that ran out Tazmin Brits. A throw of precision.
Harmanpreet Kaur: The Captain Who Carried a Generation
For sixteen years, Harmanpreet Kaur carried the weight of Indian women’s cricket on her shoulders. From that iconic 171* against Australia in the 2017 World Cup semifinal to the countless heartbreaks that followed she lived through every high and every haunting low.
On Sunday, she finally found her fairytale. At the DY Patil stadium, tears in her eyes, trophy in her hands Harmanpreet became the first woman, and only the third Indian after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni, to lift an ODI World Cup.
The cricketer that changed women’s cricket in the country, in her first ODI World Cup as captain, has now led the side to their first-ever ODI World Cup title win, that too in front of their home fans at the stadium, which was not even the first choice to host the matches when the schedule was first announced.
India’s win over South Africa in all likelihood, will make a big impact in women’s cricket, and it ideally should if one considers how things changed after India’s win in the semifinal over Australia.
Navi Mumbai, India, India
November 03, 2025, 11:08 IST
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