It had to happen one day. The Women in Blue needed to win a World Cup. Could they have chosen a better night? Perhaps not. Could they have done it at a better venue? Surely not.
Three years ago, it was at Navi Mumbai’s D.Y. Patil Stadium that the first ball of the Women’s Premier League was bowled. The tournament has played a significant role in bringing the most prized trophy in women’s cricket to India.
The WPL has not merely given the national team several new players; it has also helped them, as well as the established ones, prepare for the big moments. Such as the World Cup final.
The WPL is also one of the main reasons why the whole country is talking about Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma. It made them household names, even if they don’t enjoy the fan following that Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma does.
But the World Cup victory will earn those brave ladies new fans. More importantly, many little girls, across the country, will want to pick up a bat and a ball and run onto the grounds. Women’s cricket has been gaining in popularity in India rapidly over the last few years, but this magnificent triumph will provide another impetus.
From the brink to glory
And what a triumph this has been. Remember, Harmanpreet’s women had lost three games in a row, and even a place in the semifinals was in jeopardy — and this was a team that had begun the tournament as one of the two strongest favourites. They showed character to score a crucial win against New Zealand.
They lost the services of one of the architects of that win, Pratika Rawal, to injury but her replacement, Shafali, was the Player-of-the-Match in the final. A champion side must have several champion players within the side. Something the Australian women have shown the world with stunning regularity over so many years.
And it was India that ensured Alyssa Healy’s women would not add to their enviable collection of World Cups for the time being. After that stunning win in the semifinal, riding on a knock-of-a-lifetime from Jemimah Rodrigues, the Women in Blue proved too good for the South Africans in the final as well.
After losing two World Cup finals, India had to be third-time lucky.