India became first-time champions, defeating South Africa in the 2025 Women's World Cup final in Navi Mumbai. From the winning catch to the final lights-out, Aadya Sharma, at the DY Patil Stadium, brings a first-hand account of how a historic night of celebration unfolded.
It was exactly at midnight – to the minute – that the weight was lifted. Nadine de Klerk, the last bit of resistance holed out to Harmanpreet Kaur, leaping at cover. Wait for that catch to be slowed-down, replayed and remixed for years to come. The captain ran, the army followed. At deep cover, they all found their little parties to hug, before it became a common huddle.
When the support staff joined, they got along a tricolour. The fireworks set off, and digital billboards all beamed out one message: “India, 2025 Champions”.
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A walk through the perimeter of the ground, surrounded by a 40,000-strong audience cheering and peering over, made you realise how significant this was. By then, a contrasting side-by-side image of the 2013 final and the 2025 final – both played in Mumbai – was doing the rounds. Back then, the Women’s World Cup final was shifted from Wankhede to Brabourne to make way for the Ranji Trophy final. Today, a coinciding men’s T20I became a forgotten footnote under a historic Women’s World Cup win.
As the presentation dais was assembled on one side, and the “Champions” cut out was placed, South Africa’s players made their way out of the dugout, naturally still shaken by the outcome. There was no fairytale finish for Marizanne Kapp. Anneke Bosch and Tazmin Brits stood, hands behind their backs, trying to keep it all in. Sune Luus put an arm around backup keeper Karaba Meso. The entire line of green and yellow made for a solemn look.
Directly behind, separated by the “Champions” cutout, India’s players couldn’t stop grinning. Jemimah Rodrigues and Radha Yadav made their way up to Kapp, and gave the teared up great a bear hug. Radha put her hand over her head, completing an endearing image of camaraderie between the two sides.
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Smriti Mandhana and Laura Wolvaardt – the top two run-getters this time – stood together, exchanging thoughts, seemingly bereft of any emotion. Close to them was the India huddle, chatting away in merriment after having collected their medals. Pratika Rawal, seated in a wheelchair just yards away, was not forgotten. A smiling Sneh Rana walked up to her and promptly adorned her neck with a much-deserved medal. Barring the South African contingent, everywhere you looked, there was only positivity and happiness.
It was almost an hour after the last ball that India managed to lift the trophy, a wheelchair-bound Pratika surrounded by her teammates on the dais. Fireworks of all shapes and sizes burst at the back, a shower of golden glitter engulfing the team. On the side, Mithali Raj stood with a massive Indian flag. It wasn’t until 1am that a victory lap began, stopping every two steps to acknowledge the crowd.
That included passing on the trophy to former cricketers and now broadcasters Mithali, Jhulan Goswami, Reema Malhotra and Anjum Chopra. Their own stories never culminated in a World Cup, but their contributions weren’t forgotten even in that moment of dizzying ecstasy.
Quietly, meanwhile, Laura Wolvaardt’s press conference got over, and the vanquished unit left the place. And it wasn’t half hour later that Harmanpreet did hers, a glittery trophy in hand. The first thing she says? We felt we could win from the first ball itself. She navigated through the questions breezily, before a cheeky “bas karo yaar (end it now)” punctuation came. You could see her eyes glittering with a mix of achievement, satisfaction and tiredness. But the party was elsewhere.
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The India team went back to the dugout, but it wasn’t close to the end though. Parents and close family of most players had already made their way to the field. Around 2.30am, the party still fresh, the players came out to the main pitch to celebrate in a quieter, emptier stadium. They all changed hands and took solo pics with the trophy, the floodlights half switched off. Jemimah Rodrigues revealed that a team song, made four years ago, would finally be out of the cans. They all sang in happiness, without the chorus of the crowd this time. Empty stadiums weren't a strange sight for some of them not too long ago, but this time, they deserved a bit of that, soaking in the moment before they stepped out into a world of unprecedented adulation. It was not until 3am that the first round of players made their way out of the DY Patil Stadium and into the adjoining Marriott Courtyard, welcomed with applause as they left the hallowed turf.
Harmanpreet, hoodie on, shades on, and lip-syncing a Punjabi song on speaker, walked out to give us one of the most blockbuster parting shots of a winning captain from a World Cup finale. Accompanied by Harleen Deol, they still had enough juice in them to break into a bhangra, dancing to the beats of the dhol as they entered the team hotel. The following day, they’re supposed to fly out for an event. This is just the start of something bigger and better.
The BCCI confirmed a hefty cash prize for the team. But it’s much more than that. After their hat-trick of losses, the India team was catcalled on social media, questioned over the resource spent on them. They’ve responded in style and how.
It will take some time to even fully gauge what the effects of this gargantuan achievement are. For now, this World Cup is for every single squad member in blue, playing out of their skins to turn a faltering campaign around. And it’s a celebration for every single girl wearing an oversized “Smriti” t-shirt outside the stadium, staying put through rain and chaos. Theirs is the truest expression of love for the game. And if Harman and her team are to inspire a generation of youngsters looking up to them, there’s no better starting point as the night of November 2, 2025: a rained-out Sunday afternoon that became the Indian women’s cricket’s day in the sun, the real midnight tryst that could usher in a new dawn.
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