After huffing and puffing their way through an underwhelming league phase, the Indian women’s team showed what delivering when it matters truly means as they lifted their maiden ODI World Cup in Mumbai.
In a performance that was reminiscent of the Australian men’s team in the 2023 World Cup, the Indian women’s team looked one step away from a group stage exit for large parts of the tournament, especially after losing three successive games against top teams like Australia, England and South Africa.
But in a tournament littered with no results due to inclement weather, India made it to the semi-finals. And there, the team in blue clicked into top gear.
First up in the semi-finals, India halted the juggernaut of the all-conquering Australian team, who had been unbeaten in 15 games in the competition and looked set to add to that tally after setting a record target of 339.
But a superlative century by Jemimah Rodriguez and timely contribution by captain Harmanpreet Kaur secured a victory that turned out to be the World Cup-winning moment.
Defeating Australia in a World Cup knockout is generally seen as the litmus test in any format. The task is even more extreme in women’s cricket where the Aussies have been the undisputed champions for years.
For India, that win at the DY Patil Stadium all but secured the title. Although their final opponents South Africa were no pushovers.
The Proteas too were looking for their first 50-over title. But in reality, India carried too much momentum from their semi-final, even though South Africa had additional rest days to prepare for the title match.
Opener Shafali Verma set the foundation for a decent total of 298-7 with a quickfire 87 from just 78 balls. India should have scored well over 300, but it was the final and they did have runs on the board.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt led the way again, scoring her second successive century; tons in the semi-final and final of a World Cup is unprecedented.
It was Verma’s night, though, as she then picked up two wickets to help seal a 52-run win and trigger wild celebrations at a packed DY Patil Stadium.
Deepti Sharma also played a big role in India’s win, hitting a run-a-ball 58 and following it with figures of 5-39. She finished the World Cup with 22 wickets and 215 runs, earning a player-of-the-tournament award.
Verma showed that good things come to those who wait. She was drafted into the tournament only before the knockout stage as a late injury replacement. And she ended up as player of the final.
The World Cup win was not just for members of the squad but Indian women’s cricket as a whole. The women’s game in the country has once and for all come out of the shadows of their highly celebrated men’s counterparts and is now a benchmark on its own. An ODI World Cup win simply has that sort of an impact - just ask Rohit Sharma.
Ever since the launch of the T20 WPL in 2023, women’s cricket in India has turned into a highly competitive and lucrative sports ecosystem that is attracting eyeballs and top dollars.
The opening stages of the women’s World Cup drew five times more viewers than the 2022 edition. The India-Pakistan match had an audience of nearly 30 million. Sure, it is not close to that of matches between the men’s teams, but the numbers are making an impact.
The prize money for the women’s World Cup was significantly higher than for the men’s tournament - $13.88 million for women compared to $10m for men.
The Indian board earned a staggering $700 million from the sale of rights for the WPL, with the top players earning close to half a million dollars in the franchise league. That puts them on a par with many of the top men’s franchise leagues.
Compare that to women's cricketers of previous generations who had to rely on financial help from benefactors for travel, accommodation and even kits; the women's team came under the BCCI's wing only in 2006.
Now, the Indian board has also enforced equal pay for international matches, which means young girls in India not only have world champions to look up to, they also have a viable pathway to the top where they can earn a significant amount of money in a short period.
Interest in women’s cricket had already gathered steam but now cricket academies in India will be flooded with young girls looking to become the next Smriti Mandhana, Deepti and Harmanpreet.
And even if they can’t become the next world champions, they can aim for a very lucrative career in a highly competitive atmosphere. And that will be the legacy of India’s win in Mumbai.
