 "The night India held its breath and women’s cricket changed forever")
November 2, 2025. Women’s World Cup final, Navi Mumbai. India versus South Africa. Stadium packed to the rafters. By people who have travelled to the eastern part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Who have also braved the rain. Torrential rain, in fact, and have waited two hours (past the official start time) for action to begin.
But as the clock ticks to midnight, almost all of them, for a moment, hold their collective breath. The dancing and singing in the aisles have been happening for a while now. Especially since Amanjot performed a sweet little juggling act on the deep mid-wicket fence and ended Laura Wolvaardt’s heroic resistance.
This, though, feels like a precursor. A precursor to what is surely going to be a crescendo, but also a moment that, if given the choice, those at the ground and those in front of their TV sets with India tops on, will want to relive again and again.
‘Something special’ kicks off at DY Patil
Everyone, of course, wants to celebrate. With those beside them. With those they call family, and with the Indian players who have given blood, sweat and tears to make all of this reality. But no one really knows how to do all of that. Not just because India has never been here in any women’s World Cup previously, but also because all of it seems seismic.
The sort that, in fifty years from now, may be looked upon as that moment when everything was turned up several notches. Whether it be interest, whether it be the general vibe towards women’s cricket, or whether it be the range of emotions this Indian side battled and eventually overcame.
And then, it happens. A cathartic release. An initial hush as Nadine de Klerk slices an attempted inside-out chip, but then a cacophony of noise. The kind never heard before. The kind only believable and relevant to those who have given some piece of their heart to the sport, and the kind of roar that, henceforth, will be referred to as the roar of the billion, and also as the roar of the champions.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 2, 2025
Every ounce of effort, every clutch moment, every tear, all of it has paid off. 💙#CWC25 #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/hhxwlStp9t
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe best part is, wherever you look, there is a story. A narrative that came to its fitting conclusion. Whether that be Harmanpreet Kaur finally winning a World Cup, or Smriti Mandhana garnishing the greatest-ever batting year in the format with a world title. Or Deepti Sharma, who bowled that infamous No Ball against South Africa in 2022 that cost India a place in the semi-finals of that edition, turning up when it really, really mattered against that very opposition.
Oh, and there was Shafali Verma. Playing in a domestic T20 competition until a few days ago. But owning the final as if it was her stage, not just with the bat but also with the ball. Pratika Rawal deserves a mention too. Shafali may not have come into the squad had Pratika not gotten injured, but India may not have gotten to the semi-final at all if Pratika had not scored heavily.
Richa Ghosh and Shree Charani enjoyed stellar campaigns too. Both, excelling in their particular skill-set, now seem to have the world at their feet, and will likely have a huge role to play as India embark on a new era. Their era as champions, and possibly, their era of dominance.
The moment all of India has been waiting for as ICC Chairman @JayShah hands India captain Harmanpreet Kaur the trophy 🏆#CWC25 pic.twitter.com/Y4V1Ub2Ofu
— ICC (@ICC) November 2, 2025
That, of course, is not a given. But you cannot help feeling that this could be the start of something special. It was, as Harmanpreet said, not the culmination of a journey, but the start, and that, in a nutshell, epitomizes what this Indian team has done, and how it will now inject belief into every young girl’s veins – that they can not just make it big and mix it with those at the very top, but that they could also reign supreme at the highest pedestal possible.
From rain, nerves and years of hurt — India’s women claimed the world
Teams facing them will also now be more circumspect. Deep down, they would have always been envious of India’s squad and the talent of some of their players. But somehow, and somewhere, they would have felt that when push came to shove, India had a tendency to crumble. To not stand up as the occasion demanded, and to treat pressure as a fierce foe rather than a friend. Not anymore. Not with India now champions.
There is also that element of sporting success being the greatest unifier any country could ask for. It may sound incredibly fickle and may smack of glory-hunting, but it does bring people together, irrespective of where they are from, who they are, who they want to be, and what they do.
This women’s team has the potential to do that, and some more. Just because of how much these cricketers have gone through. Fighting the system, fighting the odds, and fighting literally everything else as people questioned not just their abilities, but their very existence as cricketers.
1983 inspired an entire generation to dream big and chase those dreams. 🏏
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 2, 2025
Today, our Women’s Cricket Team has done something truly special. They have inspired countless young girls across the country to pick up a bat and ball, take the field and believe that they too can lift… pic.twitter.com/YiFeqpRipc
For those who doubted, this is the only answer this Indian team could have conjured up. And for the others, who have given this team everything, this is just the sort of beacon they would want to follow – knowing that if these cricketers, after so many false dawns and so much pain, can reach out and clinch what they want, they could, in their respective walks of life, aspire to do something similar too.
And that is what this Women’s World Cup triumph will mean to people, and that is the feeling they came to savour when they walked in through the gates on Sunday. They knew it would rain. They knew this game would possibly go past midnight. They also knew that there was a chance they would have to head home disappointed and dejected yet again.
But that did not matter. This was their team now. The team of their hearts and of their dreams. And for them, they would do literally anything. If you had asked them to walk on fire, they would have asked how many minutes they needed to do it for, rather than querying about the whys and why-nots.
It may have been that way even if India had not won against South Africa. But winning, especially because of how sport and sporting emotions work, was a necessary exclamation mark to a World Cup story that has seen people fall in love with women’s cricket in India. Gradually, but tellingly.
And that explains why there was a hush as the ball went towards Harmanpreet off de Klerk’s bat. This was, undeniably, the Indian women’s team’s victory. Their maiden World Cup triumph. The title they have treasured for so long. But along the way, it became all of the fans’ too.
And that, once the dust settles, and once the aftershocks set in, may go down as this Indian side’s biggest win.
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