India's World Cup Triumph: Anjum Chopra Reveals Biggest Shift in Women's Cricket

On November 2, all-around performances from a returning Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma helped India make history as they defended 299 against first-time finalists South Africa to secure their first-ever world title across the ODI and T20I formats, winning the title clash by 52 runs at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium. This win came after two heartbreaks in the 2005 and 2017 World Cup finals and on the back of plenty of effort put in by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to boost women's cricket in India, such as introducing equal match fees as the men's team and the Women's Premier League (WPL).

Speaking to the reporters on Friday about the World Cup win on the sidelines of the FICCI TURF 2025 - 15th Global Sports Summit, Chopra said that she feels really close to this World Cup.

"It is still a special moment for me. Each time I watch that reel or video on my phone, the players who are in the limelight right now, Harman's catch, the semifinal win, and our campaign opener win, it comes back as a nice happy memory. It was very difficult when India lost three games in a row. But when we beat Australia (in the semifinals), people said we should be happy. But the world championship comes to only those who win. I was not playing, but I still feel close to this World Cup, and I tell people I am a world champion (laughs)," said Anjum.

Anjum also called WPL a "big stepping stone" for women's players and a really great tournament for those who want to take up the sport and progress in it.

"WPL has been a big stepping stone for women's players. There was a great improvement in Indian players from season one to two, not massive. It is not about jumping leaps as a player, but about moving in the right direction. This WC win has been the biggest shift in the women's game. We have been trying to get those accolades consistently, but this is a start, and the reward which has come to us has become very special. I see WPL as great for players to take up the sport and progress in it," she added.

On Team India targeting the next year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup in the UK, Anjum said that things are going to be different since the tournament will be in the UK and the format will be different.

"I am sure players will work very hard now that they have a trophy in hand," she concluded.

In the match, half-centuries from Shafali Verma (87) and Deepti Sharma (58) took India to 298/7 in 50 overs. South Africa were in the hunt with skipper Laura Wolvaardt (101) in sublime touch, but game-changing spells from Shafali (2/36) and Deepti Sharma (5/39) won India their maiden WC title with a 52-run win over the Proteas.

- ANI