India’s newly crowned women’s cricket champions are set for a special audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The meeting at the PM’s residence in New Delhi celebrates their momentous World Cup triumph, achieved on Sunday against South Africa by a margin of 52 runs. This historic victory marks a significant milestone for women’s cricket in India.
The team returned to a hero’s welcome in New Delhi on Tuesday evening, with fans gathering at the airport to express their admiration. Inside visuals from the team’s hotel showed them preparing for their upcoming visit with the Prime Minister. Each player is expected to be individually recognized for their outstanding performance throughout the tournament.
Prime Minister Modi has been a vocal supporter of the team, taking to social media to congratulate them on their spectacular win. He highlighted the match’s skill, confidence, and exceptional teamwork, predicting that the success would serve as a powerful inspiration for future generations of female athletes. The team’s path to the title was extraordinary, particularly their semi-final upset of Australia, where they overcame a significant deficit.
Key performances included Jemimah Rodrigues’s unbeaten 127 and Harmanpreet Kaur’s 89 in the semi-final, and Shafali Verma’s 87 in the final. Despite early setbacks in the league stage, the team demonstrated remarkable grit. In the final match, Verma’s batting laid a strong foundation for India’s 298, a total that proved too much for South Africa despite a valiant century from their captain. Deepti Sharma’s final wicket, secured by a sensational catch from Harmanpreet Kaur, clinched the championship.