The Indian women’s cricket team beat South Africa by 52 runs to win their first-ever ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in Navi Mumbai last night. Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma starred with both bat and ball to help India secure a tense win after South Africa had won the toss and elected to bowl.
Chasing 299, South Africa looked well set at one stage to get to the target, but Deepti Sharma’s breakthrough sparked a dramatic collapse. After she dismissed Annerie Dercksen, the Proteas crumbled from 209 for 5 to 246 all out. Deepti Sharma had turned the tide for India with a brilliant spell that yielded three crucial wickets, including that of South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt. Deepti bagged 5 wickets for 39 runs from 9.3 overs.
Shafali Verma created memories of a lifetime by scoring 87 in India’s 298 for 7 and then grabbed a couple of crucial wickets to restrict the Proteas Women to 246. Shafali was declared the Player of the Match, while Deepti Sharma won the Player of the Tournament award.
The victorious Indian team was given an all-time high prize money of around 37.3 crore rupees, which indicates a 239 per cent growth over the last time. The tournament’s success and India’s championship win have tremendously boosted the visibility and growth potential of women’s cricket nationwide and internationally.
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