Shafali Verma, at 21 years and 279 days, became the youngest cricketer to win the Player of the Match award in a semifinal or final of an ODI World Cup, men’s or women’s, as India Women scripted history by claiming their maiden ICC Women’s World Cup title with a memorable victory over South Africa at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy tonight.
Led by 36-year-old Harmanpreet Kaur, the oldest captain to lift the Women’s World Cup trophy, India’s triumph was remarkable for several reasons. For the first time in Women’s ODI World Cup history, a team that lost three matches in the tournament emerged as champions, a feat previously achieved only twice in the Men’s game, by Pakistan in 1992 and England in 2019.
Deepti Sharma was the standout performer, delivering an all-round masterclass with 58 runs and a five-wicket haul for 39 runs. She became the first cricketer, men or women, to score a fifty and take five wickets in a World Cup knockout match, the first to achieve this for India Women in ODIs, and only the second Indian overall after Yuvraj Singh’s performance against Ireland in 2011.
In addition, Deepti became the first player in any ODI World Cup edition to record a double of 200 runs and 20 wickets, cementing her legacy in India’s maiden title win.
India’s path to glory was a blend of resilience and redemption. Deepti had been involved in crucial moments in previous World Cups, including a penultimate-wicket dismissal in 2017 and a controversial near-win in 2022 against South Africa, making her 2025 performance a fitting culmination of years of effort.
South Africa, despite finishing runners-up in the last three ICC Women’s tournaments—the T20 World Cups of 2023 and 2024 and now the ODI World Cup 2025—could not stop India’s charge in the final.
With this victory, India join an elite list of Women’s ODI World Cup champions: Australia leads with seven titles (1978, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2005, 2013, 2022), followed by England with four (1973, 1993, 2009, 2017), New Zealand with one (2000), and now India with one (2025).
The historic triumph will be remembered not only for the records shattered and milestones achieved but for the spirit, grit, and teamwork that powered India to their first-ever Women’s ODI World Cup crown.