For years, I carried an uncomfortable impression in silence- that India’s women’s cricket team, for all its promise, had turned into what South Africa’s men had long been called: the chokers of world cricket.
Brilliant, inspiring, but heartbreakingly fragile when it mattered most. Every time we reached the doorstep of glory, we froze. Somewhere along the way, hope turned into hesitation. I’ll be brutally honest and admit that, as a fan, I stopped saying “we will win” and started whispering, “maybe this time we’ll choke.”
But now, that impression has been shattered. They proved me wrong, and I’ve never been happier to be wrong. India- the new Women’s Cricket World Champions. The same team that was mocked, doubted, and written off rose above decades of
heartbreak to lift that shining trophy.
The Weight of Almost
It began in 2005, when a young Indian side, filled with raw courage, was crushed by Australia in the World Cup final by 98 runs. Then 2017, a dagger through the heart. We were just nine runs away from rewriting history at Lord’s. Nine runs from eternal glory. Nine runs that became a symbol of all that Indian women’s cricket could be, but somehow never was.
2020 brought another final, another heartbreak- 85 runs short in a T20 World Cup decider against Australia. Then came the slide: in 2022, we couldn’t make it past the group stage; in 2023, we fell in the semis; and by 2024, we were gone before the knockouts even began.
Hope turned into hesitation. Belief became superstition.
And Then, Tonight Happened
DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. 35,000 roaring fans. A final that began like a dream and ended like a revolution. India 300-plus on the board. South Africa is undone by pressure, undone by destiny. A 52-run victory. A scoreboard that glowed brighter than the floodlights. A captain who led with poise, not panic. And that final catch- oh, that final catch.
The ball arced high into the sky, time paused, and destiny waited. When Harman held it- safe, steady, sure- it felt like 1983 all over again. Kapil Dev’s leap reborn in ponytail and power.
The moment wasn’t just cinematic; it was poetic justice. The same tag “chokers” that once shadowed both India’s women was buried tonight beneath the turf of DY Patil.
The Redemption of Belief
For two decades, we had stories of “almosts.” But tonight, we have a chapter of absolutes. They didn’t just win a World Cup they reclaimed something more sacred: belief.
Belief in their temperament. Belief in their talent. The belief that heartbreak doesn’t define legacy response does.
This victory isn’t just a headline; it’s a healing. Every tear shed at Lord’s in 2017, every collapse replayed on social media, every critic who said “they can’t handle the pressure” all of it found closure tonight.
As fireworks painted the Navi Mumbai sky, a different fire burned in me. I had been a believer turned sceptic. But tonight, that scepticism turned to surrender- to awe, to pride, to joy unfiltered.
The chokers tag- consider it cremated. The narrative is rewritten and the women are the new World Champions- finally, fiercely, forever.