New Zealand PM's Surprising Praise: Why He Hailed India's World Cup Victory

India's years' 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.

Expressing his views on Women in Blue's victory in the final, Christopher Luxon told ANI, "I watched the highlights of the game last night against South Africa... I just want to say congratulations to them. They were outstanding, truly world-class, and they deserved to win. We're very proud of them even though we would have loved New Zealand to win...As long as someone beats Australia, that's all we care about, and that's what you guys do so well."

The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 broke new ground on and off the field.

Hosts India became the fourth nation to lift the trophy, to the delight of their adoring fans in Navi Mumbai, at the end of a competition which saw individual records set and more eyeballs than ever following the action, according to a ICC media release.

India joined Australia, England and New Zealand as ICC Women's Cricket World Cup winners and, like the latter two, did so for the first time on home soil.

A sold-out crowd of 45,000 watched the hosts overcome South Africa in a final guaranteed to produce a new champion, with spectators captivated until the very last delivery, which came at nearly midnight local time, when captain Harmanpreet Kaur held on to a catch to dismiss Nadine de Klerk and get India's party started.

The competition also saw a new record set for a league stage attendance at any ICC women's event, 25,965 for India's clash with Bangladesh. That surpassed the previous record set earlier in the tournament, when 25,166 were present to watch India take on New Zealand.

The stars of the women's game shone throughout. India's Deepti Sharma was named Player of the Tournament after becoming the first player to score more than 200 runs and take more than 20 wickets in an ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, and she saved her best for last with five for 39 in the final.

South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt blazed a trail with the bat, with her final tally of 571 runs - including centuries in the semi-final and final - the most by a single batter in the tournament's history. She has consequently climbed to the top of the ICC ODI batting rankings.

Wolvaardt's ton in the final was the 15th of the competition overall, another new record, while eight scores of 300+ represented more than the previous two ICC Women's Cricket World Cups combined and more sixes (133) were hit than in any prior edition.

The record for a successful women's ODI run chase was broken not once but twice - in matches between the same nations, no less. Australia chased down 331 to beat India in the league stage before the hosts gained revenge in the second semi-final where Jemimah Rodrigues' dazzling, unbeaten 127 led a chase of 339 to send the hosts into the showpiece.

It was not just a case of bat dominating ball. This was the first ICC Women's Cricket World Cup since 1982 which saw three bowlers take more than 15 wickets, with Australia's Annabel Sutherland (17) and England's Sophie Ecclestone (16) joining Sharma in doing so, the ICC media press release.

Marizanne Kapp became the leading wicket-taker in ICC Women's Cricket World Cup history, passing the milestone during her brilliant five for 20, which helped South Africa down England in the first semi-final in Guwahati. Kapp now has 44 wickets in this competition overall, putting her at the summit ahead of Jhulan Goswami.

There was also a new record set for individual bowling figures as Australia spinner Alana King took a sensational seven for 18 in her side's league clash against South Africa.

- ANI