2025 Women’s World Cup: India crowned world champions - Deepti Sharma named Player of the Tournament
Third time the charm for India in World Cup final
The 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup has now come to an end, and what an incredible finale we witnessed at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, as India clinched the title by 52 runs against South Africa.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s side suffered heartbreak in 2005 and 2017 by losing to Australia in the final of both those competitions, but they were not to be denied this year, and the Women in Blue are now the first team from Asia to win a global title across all formats of the game.
After losing the toss and being put in the bat, India posted a solid total of 298/7 in their 50 overs, with Shafali Verma leading from the top with 87 runs in 78 deliveries, which earned her the Player of the Match award in the grand final.
South Africa made a good start, with Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits producing an opening stand of 51 in 9.3 overs before the latter was dismissed for 23 runs off 35 balls in the 10th over. Anneke Bosch fell two overs later without troubling the scoring.
The star of the show for the Proteas was once again their skipper, who went on to score her second hundred in succession (101 off 98 balls), confirming our cricket prediction for the final, while also finishing as the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 571 runs.
Unfortunately, South Africa struggled to build a partnership of any real substance, and when Wolvaardt departed in the 42nd over with the score at 220/7, the Proteas lower order crumbled and were bowled out for 246 in the 46th over.
Deepti Sharma masterclass leads India to World Cup title
While there were a few players who were in the running for the Player of the Tournament award heading into the final, including the likes of Wolvaardt, Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, it was Deepti Sharma who secured the coveted award with an incredible performance.
The all-rounder smashed a run-a-ball 58* with the bat in India’s innings before notching up a stunning 5/39 with the ball, while she also picked up a run out, dismissing Ayabonga Khaka in what turned out to be the penultimate over of the match.
Sharma ended the tournament with 215 runs and a whopping 22 wickets - the most in the competition this year. Speaking to the media post-match, Sharma could hardly contain her excitement and said:
“Honestly, this is feeling like a dream. It feels really nice that I could contribute this way in a World Cup final. I always enjoy, whichever department or whichever situation I am in. I wanted to play according to the situation. To perform as an all-rounder, it cannot be a more amazing feeling.”
The result was a momentous one for India, and with South Africa also reaching the final, it indicates a potential shift in the longstanding dominance that Australia and England have had in women’s cricket.
