BCCI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia has announced a cash prize of Rs 51 crore for the Indian team that won the ICC Women’s World Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur-led Team India created history by defeating South Africa to win their first world title in both ODI and T20I formats, leaving behind the disappointments of the 2005 and 2017 finals.
“Harmanpreet Kaur and her team have not only won the trophy today, but also won the hearts of all Indians. They have paved the way for the next generation of women cricketers,” Saikia said.
Jay Shah made many major changes during his tenure as Secretary: Saikia
Saikia credited BCCI Secretary Jay Shah for the changes in women’s cricket. She said that many reforms, such as pay parity, have been made during Shah’s tenure. She pointed out that just last month, Jay Shah, as ICC President, increased the women’s prize money by 300 percent, from $2.88 million to $14 million. These steps have given a significant boost to women’s cricket. The BCCI has announced this prize money of Rs 51 crore for the entire team – players, coaches, and support staff.
The final was very exciting
South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first in the World Cup final . India got off to a strong start, with Smriti Mandhana (45 off 58 balls) and Shafali Verma sharing a century partnership. Shefali Verma (87 off 78 balls) then added 62 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues (24 off 37 balls), putting India in a strong position (166/2).
A 52-run partnership between captain Harmanpreet Kaur (20 off 29 balls) and Deepti Sharma took the score past 200. In the end, India posted a mammoth total of 298 for 7 in 50 overs, thanks to blistering knocks from Deepti Sharma (58 off 58 balls) and Richa Ghosh (34 off 24 balls). Ayabonga Khaka took three wickets for South Africa.
Deepti Sharma turned the tide of the match
Chasing the target, South Africa got off to a good start, but excellent bowling from Shafali Verma (2/36) and Shree Charani restricted them to 148/5. South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt was in top form, scoring a century for the second consecutive match (101 off 98 balls). She started to put pressure on the visitors by sharing a 61-run partnership with Anneri Derksen (37 off 35 balls).
But the turning point of the match came when Deepti Sharma dismissed both of these set batsmen, leaving the Proteas struggling at 221/8. Deepti took five wickets, dismissing South Africa for 246 runs, giving India their first World Cup title. With this, Deepti became the first Indian woman to take a five-wicket haul in a World Cup final.
