Rohit Sharma knows the pain of missing out on a World Cup, especially on home soil. Who can forget the haunting memory of November 19, 2023, when India came up short against Australia in the final of the 50-over World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad?
Hence, it is no surprise that even the Hitman was unable to control his emotions after Harmanpreet Kaur’s India scripted history at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday by winning their maiden Women’s World Cup title.
In front of a jam-packed stadium, Harmanpreet’s side lifted the silverware after beating South Africa by 52 runs in the summit clash. Deepti Sharma was the star of the show, returning with 58 runs and five wickets as the hosts dominated the final against a formidable Proteas lineup.
The final wicket of the game was scalped by Deepti as skipper Harmanpreet picked up a sensational catch to send Nadine de Klerk back to the hut. As soon as the ball was plucked out of thin air, the entire team ran up to the Indian captain to celebrate the achievement and to no one’s surprise, the eyes of all players were moist.
The cameras then quickly panned to Rohit, who was seated in the stands, and he was first seen applauding and cheering as the entire women’s team celebrated on the ground. Soon after, the cameras zoomed in on his face, and it was then that the former India captain got a bit teary-eyed as he looked towards the sky as fireworks went off at the DY Patil.
How the match unfolded
The start of the Women’s World Cup 2025 final between India and South Africa was delayed by two hours due to rain in Navi Mumbai. Finally, the game got underway with the Proteas captain, Laura Wolvaardt, winning the toss and opting to bowl.
India posted 298 runs on the board, owing to Shafali Verma’s knock of 87. The right-handed batter, who was not named in the 15-member squad initially, was at his aggressive best as he took down the likes of Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka inside the powerplay.
With the ball in hand, it was Shafali once again, who proved the game-changer as, against the run of play, she ended up taking the wicket of Sune Luus. Wolvaardt once again scored a century but her wicket off the bowling of Deepti turned the complexion of the game and in the end, India wrapped up the match in the 46th over of the game.