India defeat South Africa to win maiden women world cup

MUMBAI (Dunya News) - The host India have defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the final of ICC Women World Cup final.

Playing first, India set a target of 299 runs for India in the final of ICC thanks to Shafali Verma's Deepti Sharma contributions of 87 and 58 runs.

The star of the semi final Jemimah Rodrigues was dismissed for 24 runs. Ayabonga Khaka was the pick of the bowlers as she took three wickets including the dangerous Verma who was looking all set to make a big century in the world cup final but fell to Khaka's slowball.

Earlier, South Africa won the toss and opted to field first against India in the final of ICC Women’s World Cup .

At Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, the toss was delayed by two hours due to rain. However, the match would still be played with the full number of overs.

Speaking at the toss, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt said the ground is favorable for chasing and hoped her side would benefit from the conditions in the early overs following the rain.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said she also preferred to bowl first due to the weather, acknowledging that batting in the first five to six overs could be challenging.

The toss was originally scheduled for 2:00pm, with the match to start at 2:30pm, but waterlogging in the outfield caused difficulties for the ground staff in preparing the field for play.

It is noteworthy that this was the first time South Africa and India had faced each other in a Women’s World Cup final — and the first time in the tournament’s history that neither Australia nor England were part of the final.

Previously, India reached the final twice before but were defeated on both occasions, while South Africa have made it to the Women’s World Cup final for the first time.