India made history on Sunday night, defeating South Africa by 52 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to win their first-ever ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title.

Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma were the stars of the final, leading India with both bat and ball in a tense contest that swung several times before the hosts seized control. Batting first after being sent in, India piled up 298/7 — the second-highest total in a Women’s World Cup final — thanks to Shafali’s superb 87 and Deepti’s steady 58. Smriti Mandhana contributed 45, while Richa Ghosh’s brisk 34 helped India close strongly despite a late fightback from the South African bowlers, led by Ayabonga Khaka with 3/58.

Chasing 299, South Africa began brightly with an opening stand of fifty between Tazmin Brits and captain Laura Wolvaardt. Wolvaardt went on to play a magnificent innings of 101, anchoring the chase even as wickets fell regularly at the other end. The match turned decisively when Deepti Sharma struck twice in a single over, removing Wolvaardt and Chloe Tryon to spark a collapse. South Africa tumbled from 209/5 to 246 all out, despite Nadine de Klerk’s late resistance.

Deepti’s five-wicket haul for 39 runs sealed the victory, earning her player-of-the-match honours and delivering India their long-awaited world title. Shafali’s earlier twin strikes, dismissing Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp, had set the stage for India’s dominance.

As Harmanpreet Kaur held the final catch, the crowd erupted, celebrating a moment decades in the making, India, at last, world champions in women’s cricket.

This is the first time that a country other than England or Australia has won the Women’s World Cup.