New Delhi: India and South Africa will face off in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 final Sunday, days after Jemimah Rodrigues’ 127 not-out helped the home team knock out seven-time champions Australia by five wickets in the semi-final.
The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at the D.Y.Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
South Africa has reached the 50-over Women’s World Cup final for the first time, defeating England in Guwahati Wednesday.
On the other hand, the Indian women’s cricket team previously reached the final twice—in 2005 (losing to Australia) and 2017 (losing to England). A victory this time will not only secure their first-ever World Cup title but also mark the end of a decades-long wait.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has made it clear that her team will try to silence the home crowd in Navi Mumbai. “Hopefully we win. I guess that will silence them,” the 26-year-old told the media in a pre-match press conference.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side is aware of the potential of their rival given that South Africa had won the previous match that they clashed at Vizag in the tournament.
The crowds will be praying for opener Smriti Mandhana to set the tone with her electrifying batting. The team will also be betting it hopes on another batting mainstay, Harmanpreet Kaur. Richa Ghosh, the explosive wicketkeeper-batter, will also be eyeing yet another batting display like she put up by scoring 77-ball 94 runs against the Proteas.
Right-arm off-spinner and left-handed batter Deepti Sharma has been solid with both and ball in this tournament. The momentum and crowd support can tilt the balance in favour of Indians.
Dew is likely to be a factor with teams preferring to chase target. Toss can be a factor in that case. Reports suggest that pitch is expected to help the batters.
For the South African side, their captain Wolvaardt has done her bit with the bat. The Indians will also be wary of all-rounder Nadine de Klerk, who had scored 84 runs off 54 balls in the match that the visiting side won. Seamer Marizanne Kapp’s ability to make the ball move through the air or off the pitch will be watched keenly by Indian batters.
On Thursday, the Indian team successfully chased down a target of 339 runs set by Australia in 49.5 overs. However, beyond the team’s victory, the highlight of the match was Rodrigues’ brilliant innings of 127 runs off 134 balls.
“It was phenomenal to watch Jemimah—the way she played. In fact, none of us remembers Kapil Dev’s innings against Zimbabwe (in 1983 World Cup). She replayed that innings, you know, the one that was played in the quarter-final. Jemimah did what Kapil Paji did long back—that match was unfortunately not broadcast, but this one fortunately was,” Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal was quoted as saying by ANI.
Jemimah has earned praised not only for her fabulous performance on the field but also for the way she spoke openly about mental health in her post-match interview. She has once again brought attention to the importance of discussing mental health in sports.
Regarding the upcoming final, Dhumal said an Indian victory would mark a historic moment for women’s cricket in the country—similar to India’s 1983 World Cup win.
“Mark my words—the way the 1983 World Cup changed men’s cricket in India, if they manage to win tomorrow, it will be a historic moment for all time to come for women’s cricket in India,” he said.
Amid the ongoing controversies and discussions about gender equality and pay parity in cricket, the Indian women’s cricket team victory and qualification for the finals have become a nationwide highlight. The World Cup tournament, which began on 30 September, featured eight teams competing in 31 matches.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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