IND-W vs SA-W Final, Women's World Cup LIVE Score: Gautam Adani calls India's win ‘a victory of spirit & grace’

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta lauded the Indian women's cricket team for winning the Women's ODI World Cup, defeating South Africa by 52 runs.

She mentioned that the victory is for "every girl with a bat or a book who now sees her own boundless potential mirrored in this shining triumph."

"From dreams quietly nurtured to thunderous roars heard across continents. Our Women in Blue didn't just win; they transformed the story. This trophy isn't just a title; it's a proclamation," the Delhi Chief Minister said in an X post.

“Every World Cup we have gone into, there have been so many heartbreaks for all of us. But we always believed that we had a bigger responsibility - not just to win, but to keep growing women's cricket,” Mandhana said.

Smriti also said that the support from the home crowd over the last month and a half has been incredible and expressed that those 45 sleepless nights were worth it.

"To finally lift the World Cup today - I will take those 45 sleepless nights any day for this moment. That last World Cup was definitely tough for all of us to take. But after that, we had a clear focus - to get fitter, stronger, and better in every area. And honestly, what is special about this team - and no one really talks about it - is how much we stuck together. Everyone supported each other, through good days and bad. We genuinely celebrated each other's success. The team environment this time... it was just so positive, so connected. That has been the biggest difference, I think," she added, according to ANI.

"I could not be prouder of this team for the campaign we had. Brilliant cricket throughout, but outplayed today (by India). Unfortunate to be on the losing side, but we will definitely grow from this. (On coming back from 69 all out and 97 all out against Australia) We did so well to put those couple of bad games behind us. We were either really good or really bad, but thankfully more of the really good. Amazing tournament for a lot of the players, and proud of the resilience we showed. (Balancing batting and captaincy) Probably did not have my best year leading into the World Cup and did not start it well. Overthinking, it was not good. It is just another game of cricket, trying to separate the two, and that sort of freed me up a bit to play my natural game and then focus on the captaincy at a different time," Wolvaardt said after the match, according to ANI.

"We were hoping for a little bit more (swing). There was still something in it, so still feel it was the right call to bowl. We were in it for a lot of the chase but lost too many wickets. I kept checking Shafali. She batted excellently. That is the way she plays. When it comes off, she can really hurt teams. (On Kapp) She has been phenomenal for so many editions. Really sad it is going to be her last one. The whole group wanted to win it for her. She is two players in one and very happy she is on our team," she further said.

"In 1983, Kapil Dev brought about a new era and encouragement in cricket by making India win the World Cup. The same excitement and encouragement has been introduced by the women today. Harmanpreet Kaur and her team have not just won the trophy today, they have won the hearts of all Indians. They have paved the way for the next generation of women cricketers... Women's cricket already reached its next level when our team defeated Australia in the semifinals..." ANI quoted Saikia as saying.

He added, “Since Jay Shah took charge of the BCCI (serving as secretary of BCCI from 2019 to 2024), he has brought about many transformations in women's cricket. Pay parity was also addressed. Last month, ICC Chairman Jay Shah increased women's prize money by 300 per cent. Earlier, the prize money was $2.88 million, and now it has been increased to $14 million. All these steps have greatly promoted women's cricket.”

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said she had a strong instinct that it was Shafali Verma’s day when she handed the ball to the opener as South Africa closed in on their chase of 299 in the World Cup final.

At the presentation ceremony, Harmanpreet stated, “When Laura and Sune were batting, they were looking really good, and I just saw Shafali standing there. And the way she was batting today, I knew today's her day. She was doing something special today, and I just thought I have to go with my gut feeling. If my heart is saying I should 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's always wanted to bowl for the team. I think that was a turning point for us,” she added.

“Every World Cup we’ve gone into, there have been so many heartbreaks for all of us. But we always believed that we had a bigger responsibility - not just to win, but to keep growing women’s cricket. And honestly, just look at the support we’ve had over the last month and a half. It’s been incredible. To finally lift the World Cup today - I’ll take those 45 sleepless nights any day for this moment. That last World Cup was definitely tough for all of us to take. But after that, we had a clear focus - to get fitter, stronger, and better in every area. And honestly, what’s special about this team - and no one really talks about it - is how much we stuck together. Everyone supported each other, through good days and bad. We genuinely celebrated each other’s success. The team environment this time… it was just so positive, so connected. That’s been the biggest difference, I think,” she said.

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