Captain Harmanpreet Kaur creates history as India wins the Women’s ODI World Cup

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) – The Indian women's cricket team made history by defeating South Africa in the final played at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai. In a brilliant performance, Team India defeated South Africa by 52 runs. With this victory, captain Harmanpreet Kaur also made history.

Harmanpreet has become the world's oldest captain to win the Women's World Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur achieved this feat at the age of 36 years and 239 days. Harmanpreet also performed brilliantly with the bat in this tournament, scoring 260 runs in 8 innings of 9 matches at an average of 32.50. Her strike rate was also 89.04. In addition, Harmanpreet has also surpassed Australia's Belinda Clark as the highest run-scorer in the knockout matches of the ICC Women's ODI World Cup.

After the final match, Harmanpreet credited the BCCI and support staff for maintaining confidence in the team. She said, "This is a huge victory, and the credit goes to the entire team's effort. We now want to improve every day. There's a World Cup and a Champions Trophy next year, so this isn't the end, but a beginning. We just want to give our best." Meanwhile, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal compared the victory to the 1983 World Cup win by the men's team. Dhumal told IANS, "This is a memorable day for Indian women's cricket. What the men's team achieved in 1983, the Indian women have replicated it in Mumbai today. This historic victory will be a tremendous boost for women's cricket in the country, and I am confident that our sport will now reach new heights."

In this match, India batted first and scored 298 runs. Shefali Verma scored 87 runs, Deepti Sharma scored 58 runs and Smriti Mandhana scored 45 runs. India's opening pair gave the team a strong start by making a partnership of 100 runs. In reply, South Africa made a good start, but India took wickets quickly and turned the match in their favour. Deepti Sharma bowled brilliantly and took 5 wickets. Shefali Verma also showed her magic with the ball and took 2 wickets. South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt scored 101 runs, but her team was all out for 246 runs.