India vs South Africa, ICC Women's World Cup 2025 Final: Will rain affect grand showdown in Navi Mumbai?

The ICC Women’s World Cup is set for a conclusion like no other in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. For the first time since the tournament’s inception in 1973, two years before the first men’s World Cup, the final will not have either Australia or England competing for the ultimate prize in women’s cricket.

On the contrary, the Women’s World Cup is set to crown a new champion for the first time since hosts New Zealand defeated Australia in the final of the 2000. This time it’s going to be two-time runners-up and tournament co-hosts India facing first-time finalists South Africa in a battle for the ages at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.

Also Read | Buoyed by historic win, Harmanpreet Kaur’s India brace for era-defining showdown against South Africa

After suffering three semi-final defeats since their World Cup debut in 1997, South Africa finally conquered that hurdle on Wednesday. And they did so in style with a 125-run thrashing of four-time champions England – the team that had handed them a 10-wicket thrashing after bowling them out for 69 at the start of their campaign.

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India, on the other hand, bounced from from a hat-trick of defeats in the group stage to defeat New Zealand in a virtual quarter-final and enter the knockouts. And in the semi-final showdown against Australia, India not only defeated the defending champions and seven-time winners but they also smashed a world record in the process – that of the highest successful chase in women’s ODIs.

Also Read | Harmanpreet says India ready to conquer final hurdle after years of heartbreaks: ‘Looking forward to how it feels to win’ 

Sunday’s final promises to be a cracker of a contest at what should be a capacity DY Patil crowd, with the demand for tickets skyrocketing since Jemimah Rodrigues got the Women in Blue over the line in their chase of an improbable 339-run target.

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Will rain play spoilsport in Navi Mumbai in the Women’s World Cup final? 

There is however a slight concern with regards to the weather. The 2025 Women’s World Cup, after all, has had several games affected by rain – either resulting in a complete washout or forcing the umpires to abandon the game after a few overs, or leading to a curtailed match.

And while Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium has faced the brunt of weather-related interruptions, Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium hasn’t exactly been spared either. The India-New Zealand match witnessed overs being reduced in both innings and the Women in Blue’s subsequent fixture against Bangladesh was called off with the home team was on the verge of a comfortable victory.

And while there was a prediction of rain playing spoilsport in the India-Australia semi-final on Sunday, it didn’t make much of an appearance in the end, holding up play very briefly early in the Australian innings.

📍 Navi Mumbai

The #WomenInBlue are Geared 🆙 for the #CWC25 Final!#TeamIndia | @ImHarmanpreet pic.twitter.com/fnGRS1cNXm

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) November 1, 2025

As for Sunday’s weather forecast for the satellite city bordering the megacity of Mumbai, Accuweather expects Navi Mumbai to be “humid with variable cloudiness; a passing afternoon shower or two.” The city’s expected to witness thunderstorms early in the morning and will gradually get sunnier till noon, before getting overcast closer to the start of the game.

The website also predicts showers in the evening between 5-6 pm, meaning the first innings could potentially get delayed. Whether the rain interruption leads to a reduction of overs or not is something that remains to be seen.

The ICC does have a ‘Reserve Day’ in place in case rain forces the umpires to call off the game on Sunday, with the match resuming on Monday from where it left off on the previous day. That situation, however, appears unlikely for now.