Prayagraj, November 2
Prayers were offered in Prayagraj by people praying for their victory in the final of the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 against South Africa on Sunday.
Earlier, fans in Kanpur expressed their excitement and support for skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her team, praying for India's victory in the summit clash.
A local cricket enthusiast said he was confident about India's chances, applauding the team's performance in the semi-final against Australia.
"I am hopeful that India will win the match. The team has been playing very well. We played very well in the semi-final match against Australia," the fan told ANI.
Another fan also expressed hope regarding Team India's win, hailing the current form of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and batter Jemimah Rodrigues.
"Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur are in form and we are hopeful that team India will surely win the World Cup," she said.
This will be the first time hosts India Women will lock horns with South Africa Women in the final of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, with the tournament guaranteed to crown a new champion.
The winner will lift the coveted Women's Cricket World Cup trophy for the first time in history. This will also mark the first Women's Cricket World Cup final not featuring Australia or England, according to Olympics.com.
Sunday's final will be India's third appearance in a Women's World Cup final. The team lost to Australia by 98 runs in the 2005 final and suffered a narrow nine-run defeat against England in 2017.
In the semi-finals on Thursday, India defied the odds to end Australia's reign as defending champions by pulling off a record run-chase of 339 runs in Navi Mumbai. Jemimah Rodrigues scored an unbeaten innings of 127 to guide India home. Harmanpreet Singh contributed with a vital 89.
South Africa, meanwhile, will feature in their first-ever Women's ODI World Cup final. Laura Wolvaardt's commanding 169 powered them to 319/7 against England in their semi-final before Marizanne Kapp's career-best 5/20 sealed a 125-run win.
Jemimah Rodrigues showed nerves of steel to drive India home against the mighty Australia in the semi-finals. She is among the top scorers in the Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 with 268 runs from six innings at an average of 67.
She also scored 123 when India faced South Africa in a women's ODI match back in May. World No. 1 batter Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur have also been among the runs, while Deepti Sharma is the joint top wicket-taker in the tournament with 17 scalps.
For South Africa, they will be heavily reliant on their skipper, Laura Wolvaardt. With 470 runs in eight innings at an average of 67, she is the tournament's leading scorer.
Marizanne Kapp, Nonkululeko Mlaba and Nadine De Klerk have been South Africa's top wicket-takers, according to Olympics.com.
India and South Africa have faced each other 34 times in women's ODIs, with India winning 20 and South Africa 13, while one match ended without a result.
The two sides met earlier in the league stage, where the Proteas chased down 252 with three wickets in hand and seven balls to spare.
However, India holds an edge at the DY Patil Stadium, remaining unbeaten in all three matches they have played at the venue during the 2025 World Cup. South Africa, on the other hand, will be playing at the ground for the first time in the tournament.
- ANI
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