Indian women script history, win World Cup

Indian women script history, win World Cup

Harmanpreet Kaur’s rampaging women defeat South Africans by 52 runs in dominant fashion.

The victory in today’s final is testimony to the progress made by this Indian women’s squad.

Shafali Verma makes a sensational comeback, with a 50, two wickets to seal the coronation.

Indian women created history before a packed D.Y. Patil Stadium here on Sunday, winning the Women’s ODI World Cup defeating South Africa by 52 runs.

If the team’s astounding run to the final in 2017, slaying giant Australia en route, is often cited as the cornerstone of a revolution, the maiden championship win is the fulfilment of a gritty effort to match promise with performance.

Steady progress

In the eight years since, progress was agonisingly slow but steady. India’s ambitions to dominate world cricket slowly made room for the women.

Parity in match fees, more fixtures, and the lucrative Women’s Premier League helped India rub shoulders with Australia and England.

At the D.Y. Patil Stadium, with trailblazers like Diana Edulji, Mithali Raj, and Jhulan Goswami in attendance, India — with a squad featuring veterans pining for victory and youngsters eager to succeed — clinched its maiden world crown.

Roller-coaster run

A roller-coaster run for the home side in the tournament saw different members come in the clutch. If youngsters Amanjot Kaur and Richa Ghosh bailed India out early on, seniors Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma helped traverse the ravines of knockout cricket. Destiny’s child Shafali Verma scripted a sensational comeback story, with a half-century and two key wickets in the final to seal India’s coronation.

Harmanpreet Kaur and team are often held to the standards set by that 2017 campaign.

Its run now was far from perfect, with three losses to the other semifinalists in the league stage. But as the captain admitted before the summit clash, only the big picture mattered — what a win could do for a side that always buckled and fell short of the podium.

“We know how it feels to lose. We look forward to seeing how it feels to win,” Harmanpreet said.

Her team and the billion Indian hearts they carry with them now know.