The South Africa Women’s Cricket Team finished as runners-up after losing to India in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup final.
In a thrilling encounter, India seized control and claimed their first-ever World Cup title, marking a historic achievement for the hosts.
The match, delayed by two hours due to rain, eventually got underway with India batting first and posting an impressive total of 298-7. Shafali Verma led the charge with a fluent 87 off 78 balls, while Deepti Sharma added 58 runs to put South Africa under significant pressure.
In response, South Africa’s captain Laura Wolvaardt played a magnificent innings, scoring a superb 101 off 98 balls to take her team to 211-6. With just 88 runs needed from the final 10 overs, the game was finely balanced.
However, Wolvaardt’s dismissal triggered South Africa’s collapse, resulting in their third consecutive defeat in a World Cup final. The match concluded fittingly, as the tournament’s leading run-scorer (Wolvaardt) ultimately fell to the tournament’s top wicket-taker (Deepti).
ICC Women’s World Cup, Navi Mumbai
India 298-7 (50 overs): Shafali 87 (78); Khaka 3-58
South Africa 246 (45.3 overs): Wolvaardt 101 (98); Deepti 5-39
India won by 52 runs