Mohali, November 3
Family members of the all-rounder Amanjot Kaur celebrated after the Indian Women's Team created history on Sunday as the Women in Blue went on to clinch their maiden ICC Women's World Cup trophy.
India's years-long dream of capturing the ICC Women's World Cup finally came to an end after two heartbreaks in 2005 and 2017 finals, as they defeated South Africa by 52 runs in a clinical performance at the finals, which saw Shafali Sharma (87 and 2/36) and Deepti Sharma (58 and 5/39) delivering all-round performances that would stay imprinted in the minds' of millions and serve as a tale of inspiration for the cricketers of the future.
On Team India's win, Amanjot Kaur's aunt, Harvinder Kaur, said, "...We are very happy with the victory. We burst crackers at night and celebrated the victory..."
Coach Nagesh Gupta praised the Indian women's cricket team for their historic ICC Women's World Cup victory, highlighting Amanjot Kaur's crucial catch as the turning point in the final. He said the triumph marked the end of England and Australia's 25-year dominance in the tournament.
"The Indian Women's Cricket Team has made history by winning the World Cup, bringing immense joy and pride to the nation. They won the first two matches, lost three, and then made a strong comeback, defeating Australia in the semifinals and securing the final victory. Amanjot Kaur's crucial catch was a turning point in the match. This win is remarkable, as it breaks England and Australia's 25-year dominance in the Women's Cricket World Cup," he stated.
Coming to the match, South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first.
A century partnership between Smriti Mandhana (45 in 58 balls, with eight fours) and Shafali Verma kick-started things for India, followed by another 62-run stand between Shafali (87 in 78 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Jemimah Rodrigues (24 in 37 balls, with a four). India was at a fine platform of 166/2.
A 52-run stand between skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (20 in 29 balls, with two fours) and Deepti Sharma took India beyond the 200-run mark. A final flourish by Deepti (58 in 58 balls, with three fours and a six) and Richa Ghosh (34 in 24 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped India reach 298/7 in their 50 overs.
Ayabonga Khaka (3/58) was the leading wicket-taker for SA.
During the run-chase, a fifty-run stand started things for SA, with Tazmin Brits (23 in 35 balls, with two fours and a six) being the first victim. Eventually, despite skipper Laura Wolvaardt's dominance, the golden arms of Shafali Verma (2/36) and Shree Charani reduced SA to 148/5.
Wolvaardt had a 61-run stand for the sixth wicket with Annerie Dercksen (37 in 35 balls, with a four and two sixes), which slowly started to rebuild pressure on India. Wolvaardt (101 in 98 balls, with 11 fours and a six) continued her red-hot form, bringing up her century after having registered 169 against England in the semifinal just a few days back.
However, a game-changing spell from Deepti removed both set batters and had the Proteas struggling at 221/8. She became the first Indian woman with a WC final four-fer.
Deepti (5/39) eventually managed to convert it into a fiver, as India made history to win their maiden WC title by bundling out SA for 246 runs.
- ANI
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