India Women vs South Africa Women, Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

The chase against Australia and now the title triumph. Two of Indian cricket's greatest nights back to back. And you can see how much it means to everyone, be it the many former players who are in attendance, the fans at the venue, and the players themselves. They know the sacrifices that have been made to get here. There are no differences today, only pure joy. And on that note, it's time for us to say goodbye. Was a delight bringing you all the action from an incredible tournament. This is Sagar Chawla signing off on behalf of Siva and Raju Peethala. Good night!

Oh what a privilege to have witnessed this. A maiden World Cup triumph for Indian women, and it belongs not just to Harmanpreet and her phenomenal team, but also to all those who paved the way, and all those who will be inspired to pick up a bat and a ball. "We were waiting for this moment, now this moment has come. Now want to make it a habit," says Harmanpreet before going on to collect the trophy from ICC Chairman Jay Shah. The celebrations begin and Pratika Rawal is there too, on a wheelchair. Fireworks, confetti, roars, cheers, tears... The Indian flag is being waved as the players now embark on a victory lap. On the way they meet Mithali Raj, Anjum Chopra, Jhulan Goswami and Reema Malhotra, and hand the trophy to them. What lovely scenes. Goswami is in tears as she lifts the trophy. The players now proceed on their victory lap with AR Rahman's rendition of "Maa Tujhe Salaam" reverberating around the ground.

Harmanpreet Kaur | Indian skipper: I I'm so grateful for this crowd. They've been so amazing. Thank you, thank you, guys, for being there for us, for in all our ups and downs. And credit goes to our entire cricket team, BCCI, selectors, everyone back home, thank you, thank you so much. (how did you motivate the team after three successive losses?) Last game also we spoke, that self-belief was there that, you know, even though we lost three back-to-back games, but we knew this team had something special to turn things around the table. So I think credit goes to each and every member. They stayed positive. They knew what we have to do in the next three games. And I think everybody was so involved. They were there for day and night. I think this team deserves to be there. (on bringing on Shafali) I mean, when Laura and Sune was batting, they were looking really good. And I just saw Shefali standing there. And the way she was batting today, I knew today's her day. She was showing something special today. And I just thought I have to go with my gut feeling. If my heart is saying I could give at least one over to her, I'm going to give her. And then I just asked her, can you bowl one over? And she was so ready. And she always wanted to bowl for the team. And I think that was a turning point for us. When she came to the team, that time we spoke to her, we might need to bowl two or three overs. Then she was like, no, if you give me the ball, I'm going to bowl 10 overs for the team. And that showed how confident she was to bowl for the team. And I think credit goes to her, she was so positive. She was there for the team. (was 298 enough did you think?) No, actually today's pitch was totally different because of the rain and the overhead condition. We knew this total is enough for the final game because in the final game, you always have a little extra pressure on you. But still, we should give credit to the South Africa team. They batted beautifully. The last moment, they panicked a little bit. And that's where, you know, we catch the game. And I think we, as a group, we have been talking about, you know, once they started doing a little bit, you know, something here and there, we have to catch that. And I think that right time, Deepti came and took those crucial wickets. (this win is for all the previous Indian teams also right?) Definitely. Every time, after every World Cup, we came as a team and we always discussing here, like, what we have to do to cross that, you know, that line. And this time, last two years, Amol sir was there with the team and he was, you know, always telling us that this is not something, you know, this team is expecting from you guys. You have to come up with something special and, you know, you have to keep preparing yourself for the bigger occasion. And I think we should give credit to our support staff and BCCI for showing trust on us. And, you know, this team was there for last two years. We didn't make so many changes. I think that shows they're really interested in us. And today, I think because of everyone, we are standing here. (is this the start of something bigger?) Definitely. This is the start. We wanted to break this barrier. And now, our next plan is make this a habit. Because, you know, we are waiting for this moment. Now, this moment has come. Now, let's just make this happen, you know. Now, next year there's also World Cup and then Champions Trophy is there. So, so many big occasions are coming. We just want to, you know, keep improving day by day. This is not a end. This is just a beginning. And we just want to keep giving our best.

Time for the winners' medals. A beaming Indian contingent go to receive them.

Laura Wolvaardt | SA captain: All of those words. I couldn't be prouder of this team for the campaign that we have had. Played some brilliant cricket throughout. Outplayed today, India played fantastically well. Unfortunate to be on the losing side today, but I’m sure we’ll definitely grow from this as a group. (how did you recover after the opening loss and the loss to Australia?) I think we did so well to put those couple of bad games behind us. We were either really good or really bad, but thankfully there was a lot more really good throughout this tournament. Yeah, I think there were so many different players stepping up. Amazing tournament for a lot of different players. And just proud of the resilience we showed to get all the way to the final. (how did you balance batting and captaincy?) I probably didn't have my best year leading into this World Cup, and probably didn't start the tournament that well. But I think maybe overthinking it wasn't that good. Just try to, you know, it's just another game of cricket even though you are at a World Cup. Try to separate the two, the captaincy and the batting. And I think that sort of freed me up a bit from the back-end of the tournament to just play my natural game and then focus on my captaincy at a different time. (decision to bowl first) Well, we're hoping for a little bit more early on. I think there was still a little bit of something in the wicket, though. So I do still think it was the right call to have a bowl. And yeah, that chase, I think we were in it for a lot of the chase. Just lost too many wickets. (good comeback with the ball at the end) That was brilliant. I kept checking that scoreboard and they were definitely tracking for like a 350. So yeah, that backend was amazing. I think we've been pretty good at that throughout the tournament. And I think we gave ourselves a good chance. I think 300 was about par on a good wicket. And we really thought that we could chase it. (on Shafali) Definitely, in her bowling. But yeah, I think she batted excellently. That's kind of the way she plays, really aggressive. And when it comes off like today, she can really hurt teams. Yeah, I think she batted really well. (on Kapp) She's been absolutely phenomenal for so many editions of this tournament. Really sad that it's possibly the last one. I think the whole group really wanted to win it for her. But yeah, I think she's been so great for South African cricket. She's sort of two players in one. And we're very lucky that she's on our team.

The South African players are receiving their runners-up medals. Last to get her medal is captain Laura Wolvaardt and she gets a big cheer from crowd.

Jemimah Rodrigues became the nation's heartbeat after the epic win in the semifinal, and today it was Shafali Verma's turn. She hadn't even played an ODI for over a year before her she got drafted in as Pratika Rawal's replacement for the semis. Out of the cold she arrived to take the final by storm, first with the bat and then with the ball. It was a good toss to win for South Africa but Shafali never allowed their seamers to settle, using her feet regularly and putting them off their lines and lengths. But that wasn't all. If you thought her quickfire 87 was the stuff that fairytale comebacks were made of, there was more to come. Just when the match was in the balance, Harman pulled off a surprise, tossing the ball to her and she struck twice by getting rid of Sune Luus and the big one of Marizanne Kapp. Okay, time for the presentations...

Aged 21y 279d, Shafali Verma is the youngest to win the Player of the Match award in the semi-final or final of an ODI World Cup - Men's or Women's.

Aged 36y 239d, Harmanpreet Kaur is the oldest captain to win the Women's World Cup.

Women’s ODI WC winners
7 - Australia (1978, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2005, 2013, 2022)
4 - England (1973, 1993, 2009, 2017)
1 - New Zealand (2000)
1 - India (2025)

This is the first time that a Women’s ODI World Cup has been won by a team that lost three matches in the tournament. It has happened twice in the Men’s tournament: Pakistan in 1992 and England in 2019.

Deepti Sharma today (58 & 5/39)
>> First cricketer to score a fifty and bag five wickets in a World Cup knockout game - Men’s or Women’s.
>> First to achieve that double for India Women in ODIs.
>> Second Indian to do that in the ODI World Cup - Men’s or Women’s - after Yuvraj Singh vs Ireland in 2011.

South Africa have finished runners-up in the last three ICC Women’s tournaments:
T20 World Cup 2023,
T20 World Cup 2024
and ODI World Cup 2025.

Deepti Sharma in ODI World Cup
2017: Last recognised batter to be dismissed (penultimate wicket) in the final when India needed 11 off 12.
2022: Had Mignon du Preez caught when SA needed 3 off 2 in a must-win game for India, only for replays to indicate that she had overstepped. India eventually lost the game and were knocked out of the competition.
2025: Redemption! An all-round show in India’s maiden title win. She is the first to achieve a double of 200 runs and 20 wickets in a single ODI World Cup edition - Men's or Women's.

Most wickets in Women’s ODI WC edition
23 - Lyn Fullston (AUS-W) in 1982
22 - Jackie Lord (NZ-W) in 1982
22 - Deepti Sharma (IND-W) in 2025
21 - Sophie Ecclestone (ENG-W) in 2022
20 - Shubhangi Kulkarni (IND-W) in 1982
20 - Neetu David (IND-W) in 2005

Deepti Sharma | Player of the Tournament (translated from Hindi): Honestly, we still can't believe this result. It feels like a dream. But very happy I could contribute like this today. We always try to take away positives from the match. Also have to thank the fans, they came in huge numbers today, because they support us in every game. Without them it wouldn't be possible, thanks to them. As a team we feel so good after this result. (how do you react to challenges?) I always enjoy whatever department I'm in. Whatever situation I'm in, because I like challenges. Today, I got the same thing that I had a ball in my hand and bat in hand. I had to play according to that situation. And I enjoyed a lot. And what better moment than this to go on stage and perform as an all-rounder for your team. It can't be more amazing than this. (what was the chat when Laura was batting so well?) I think Laura played a very good inning, honestly. But we were not relaxed anywhere. We were very calm. We were always cheering each other up, whenever there was a drinks break. And as a bowling unit, we were talking that we have to go till the last ball. And we have to focus more on our best ball. And we did the same thing. (what changes do you want to see for the future?) There have been a lot of changes since 2017. And I would like to say if we play more number of matches from now on, it will be good. And finally I would like to dedicate this trophy to my mom and dad.

Shafali Verma | Player of the Match (translated from Hindi): Absolutely. I said in the starting that God has sent me to do something good. And today that has reflected. And I am very happy that we finally won the World Cup. I can't express it in words. (how did you switch on after you were called up so late to the team?) It was difficult but I had confidence in myself. That I will believe in myself. And if I keep myself calm, I can do anything. So that belief and that calmness and my parents gave a lot of support. My parents, my friend, my brother. I think everyone gave a lot of support. Everyone used to tell me how to play. And how important this final is for me, for the whole team. So today I was only thinking about how to make runs. The team should win. (what was your mindset today?) Yes, absolutely. My mind was clear today. And I went and worked on my plans. I am so happy that they got executed. And along with that, Smriti didi was talking to me a lot. Harman di was always a supporter. And I think everyone supported me a lot. All the teammates were very welcoming and supportive. (what was the message to you from the seniors?) The team just opened their hearts and told me to play my game. Not to leave my game. So, I think when you get so much clarity, then you feel very happy. (Sachin was in the balcony watching you today, how did you feel?) No, it's a very memorable moment for me. But when I saw Sachin sir, I got a different boost. I keep talking to Sachin sir. He always gives me confidence. And I think they are legends. They are masters of cricket. But I got a lot of inspiration from them. I get a lot of inspiration when I talk to them. I got a lot of inspiration after seeing them.

Amol Muzumdar | Head coach: (you must be proud?) Absolutely proud. There's no doubt about it. I don't know, it's not yet sink in, but it's an unbelievable achievement by all the girls. I mean, they deserve every credit. They deserve everything that will follow from here because they've worked terribly hard. I know for a fact that they've done extremely, every Indian proud. (how did you get back on track after those losses?) We didn't look at those losses as losses. We just thought that we just couldn't get over the line, that's about it. We dominated a lot of, you know, in those games we dominated a majority of those matches. So we didn't look at those as losses. We just thought that, yeah, there are some hiccups in the campaign, but we were still alive in the tournament. And here we are on 2nd November 2025, world champions. (what will this do for women's cricket in India?) I don't know. I really don't know. But I'm sure, as I said, they deserve everything that will follow from here on. And I know for a fact that they've worked extremely hard for this. And I think it's a watershed moment for Indian cricket. (on Shafali) One word! Magical. Absolute magical. Turns up in the semi-finals, no pressure. In the finals, in front of a home crowd, packed stadium. Turns up a blinder of an innings and then picks up a few wickets with the ball. So absolutely magical. (on the fielding today) Absolutely. That was one thing that we spoke a lot in the dressing room in the last two years that fielding and fitness was something that we really spoke about and we focussed on it. Here we are, they just turned it up on this day. In the World Cup final. I couldn't have asked for more.

Smriti Mandhana: (how are you feeling right now?) I don't know how do I react to that. It is still sinking in. As you said, I haven't been emotional on a cricket field. But yeah, I mean, this is a very unreal moment. Home World Cup and yeah, I mean, to be the champion in India, I mean, I just can't. I'm still not able to process it. (what's the bigger picture of this win?) I mean, every World Cup we go in and there have been so many heartbreaks for all of us. But yeah, I mean, we always believe that we have a bigger responsibility with women's cricket. And genuinely, just to see the support we've got over the last one and a half month and to see people come and support us. I mean, I don't know how do I explain the last 40 days. But yeah, I mean, to end it with a World Cup win today, I mean, I will take that 45 days of not sleeping every night. (what did you do differently this time?) The last T20 World Cup for sure was a difficult one for all of us to take. But yeah, I mean, we had a focus on really, you know, trying to work on our fitness, trying to be better at each and every aspect. But I mean, the super strength of this team is no one will talk about it, but it's the way everyone's just stuck in and just playing for each other. I don't know, in a World Cup like this, you just need everyone's support. Everyone was there for each other, good days, bad days. We enjoyed each other's success. I mean, I just can't tell you the way the team environment is and I think that's really magic.