Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 3 : Following an incredible ICC Women's World Cup campaign, Indian batter Smriti Mandhana, who ended up as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament, expressed her happiness with the title win, saying that it was not just about winning the tournament, but it felt that the team had a bigger responsibility of growing women's cricket.
Smriti's incredible World Cup campaign was filled with records and led her to the World Cup trophy, finally, after the heartbreaks of the past two editions. She surpassed Mithali Raj to have the best-ever World Cup by an Indian batter, scoring 434 runs in nine innings at an average of 54.25, with a century and two fifties and a best score of 109.
Speaking during the post-match, Mandhana said, "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."
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," he concluded.
South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first. A century partnership between Smriti Mandhana (45 in 58 balls, with eight fours) and Shafali Verma kick-started things for India, followed by another 62-run stand between Shafali (87 in 78 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Jemimah Rodrigues (24 in 37 balls, with a four). India was at a fine platform of 166/2.
A 52-run stand between skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (20 in 29 balls, with two fours) and Deepti Sharma took India beyond the 200-run mark. A final flourish by Deepti (58 in 58 balls, with three fours and a six) and Richa Ghosh (34 in 24 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped India reach 298/7 in their 50 overs.
Ayabonga Khaka (3/58) was the leading wicket-taker for SA.
During the run-chase, a fifty-run stand started things for SA, with Tazmin Brits (23 in 35 balls, with two fours and a six) being the first victim. Eventually, despite skipper Laura Wolvaardt's dominance, the golden arms of Shafali Verma (2/36) and Shree Charani reduced SA to 148/5.
Wolvaardt had a 61-run stand for the sixth-wicket with Annerie Dercksen (37 in 35 balls, with a four and two sixes), which slowly started to rebuild pressure on India. Wolvaardt (101 in 98 balls, with 11 fours and a six) continued her red-hot form, bringing up her century after having registered 169 against England in the semifinal just a few days back. However, a game-changing spell from Deepti removed both set batters and had Proteas struggling at 221/8. She became the first Indian woman with a WC final four-fer. Deepti (5/39) eventually managed to convert it into a fiver, as India made history to win their maiden WC title by bundling out SA for 246 runs.