Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025: How India finally embraced World Cup fever

Another effect of the Colombo rain and the calm of the group stage was that the tournament lacked any stakes, and there were none of the shocks or surprises that make World Cup finals in any sport so special.

The biggest result could have been Pakistan’s victory over England, which would have happened had the weather not intervened.

Those games may not have changed the eventual semi-finalists, as the finals were the ones that would have been expected anyway, but it meant the matter was taken out of their hands, and it took until the knockout stages for the tournament to really get underway.

First, Laura Wolfhardt stunned England with a majestic 169, and Marizanne Kapp batted for 5-20 as South Africa dominated Guwahati, rewriting their script after they were bowled out for 69 in the opener.

Wolfhardt had the first of four centuries (two for her, one for Phoebe Litchfield and Jemimah Rodrigues) in a semi-final that exuded class, power and skill to show just how far the game has evolved, and what these players can do on the biggest stage.

Rodriguez then lit Navi Mumbai on fire as defending champions India bowled out Australia in an all-time classic, looking for a record 339 under the bright lights, reviving the hopes of a nation that had been left disappointed by three group stage defeats.

This is what turned the tide. Queues formed outside the stadium more than 24 hours after the first ball of the final, and stalls and vendors lined the streets selling hats, flags and T-shirts with the names of Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet on the backs.

As the stars aligned, the stars emerged – Sachin Tendulkar, the leading run-scorer in the history of Test cricket, gave a pre-match lecture to the team before the match and delighted the crowd as he walked with the trophy onto the field.

“This is India. It takes very little to stir up emotions in a good way or a bad way, and that’s exactly what happened,” Wakankar added.

“I’ve had people and friends who were influential enough to be able to get tickets themselves call me for the past day and a half and the tickets weren’t there.

“I heard that the players’ families, extended families, were struggling to get down to earth.”

In the post-match celebrations, the India players changed into different playing shirts with the word ‘Champions’ written on the front. Former players, legends Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj, have joined the party and there is talk of displaying the winners in Mumbai with the trophy, a chance for more people to see their new heroes.

In the end, it was Harmanpreet, after years of near-misses in an otherwise stellar career, who provided the most apt summary.

“This is not the end, this is just the beginning.”