India Win Maiden Women's ODI World Cup 2025: Shafali 87, Deepti 5/39 Seal Historic Title

India won their first-ever Women's Cricket World Cup on 2 November 2025 — a milestone more than two decades in the making. In the final, played in India, India posted 298/7 and then bowled South Africa out for 246, winning by 52 runs. Shafali Verma's 87 off 78 balls was India's highest score in the final, and Deepti Sharma's 5/39 was the bowling display that ended South Africa's challenge. It was India's first Women's ODI World Cup title; the closest they had previously come was the 2017 final, which they lost to England at Lord's by 9 runs.

India's Innings: Shafali Verma's 87 Powers 298

India's 298/7 in the Women's ODI World Cup 2025 final was a combination of Shafali Verma's explosive top-order batting and middle-order depth. Shafali's 87 off 78 balls — her highest ODI score — set the tone with boundaries in the powerplay before building her innings into a dominant partnership. The total of 298 set South Africa a challenging target on the Indian surface but, crucially, was not above South Africa's chasing capabilities — the final remained in the balance across the first 35 overs before India's spinners took control.

Deepti Sharma: 5/39, The Decisive Bowling Performance

Deepti Sharma's 5/39 was the match-turning bowling display of the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup final. An off-spinning all-rounder who had been one of India's most consistent performers across the tournament, Deepti exploited South Africa's mid-innings vulnerability against spin with a spell that removed the South African middle order in quick succession. Laura Wolvaardt scored a fighting 101 — a century in a losing cause — but could not find a partner to carry through with her as Deepti's wickets created a collapse that India controlled from overs 30-45.

South Africa's Final: Wolvaardt's Century in a Losing Cause

South Africa's 2025 Women's ODI World Cup final was defined by Laura Wolvaardt's 101 — a remarkable innings that kept South Africa's challenge alive long into the second innings. Wolvaardt, South Africa's most consistent batter across the tournament, reached her century but ran out of partners as Deepti Sharma and India's spin attack dismissed the South African middle and lower order. South Africa finished on 246 all out — 52 runs short. It was the second time in the 2025 calendar year that South Africa's women's team had reached an ICC final and lost; they had also been runners-up in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup.

India's Women's Cricket Journey

India's Women's ODI World Cup 2025 victory capped a decade of transformation in women's cricket in India. The launch of the Women's Premier League in 2023 — India's franchise T20 competition for women — provided a new competitive structure and broadcast platform. Players like Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, and Harmanpreet Kaur had established themselves among the world's best women's cricketers in the years preceding the 2025 World Cup. The global development of women's cricket — driven by the ICC Women's Championship, increased bilateral series, and franchise leagues — contributed to the depth India needed to win a World Cup campaign across eight matches.