Former India captain Mithali Raj shared an emotional social media post following the side's maiden World Cup triumph on Sunday. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the final at the D.Y. Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai to become just the fourth team in history to win the coveted title.
Mithali-led team had come up short in 2017
Mithali, who had led the team all the way to the final back in 2017 only to lose against England, highlighted how much it means for the team to finally win the World Cup title for the first time in their history. She celebrated India's historic triumph and shared a heartffelt note, remarking that she has waited for quite a long time to see the women's team finally lift the World Cup.
“Champions of the World, I’ve seen this dream for over two decades, to watch the Indian women lift that World Cup trophy. Tonight, that dream finally came true," Mithali wrote in a post on X.
“From the heartbreak of 2005 to the fight of 2017, every tear, every sacrifice, every young girl who picked up a bat believing we belong here, it all led to this moment. To the new champions of world cricket, you didn’t just win a trophy, you won every heart that ever beat for Indian women’s cricket. Jai Hind," she added.
India's comprehensive win over SA
Meanwhile, India put in a brilliant all-round performance against South Africa to clinch their maiden World Cup title. They first handed a formidable target of 299 runs to the Proteas thanks to important knocks from Shafali Verma (87) and Deepti Sharma (58). In reply, they bundled out the visitors for 246 thanks to a sensational fifer from Deepti, who was later adjudged as the Player of the Series.
The 52-run victory saw India join England, Australia and New Zealand as the only teams to win the World Cup since its inception back in 1973. Despite coming up short in their previous two finals in 2005 and 2017, the Women in Blue made sure to put the painful history behind them and rose to the occasion.