A new Women’s World Cup (WWC) champion will be crowned on Sunday, November 2, 2025 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Australia (7), England (4) and New Zealand (1) are joined by South Africa or host country India.
It has been a remarkable WWC from the start. Team records have been broken. Finalists India improved their highest WWC score a whopping 3 times in the tournament, surpassing their 317/8 vs WI in 2022 against Australia (330 ea), New Zealand (340/3) and Australia again in the semi-finals (341/5).
Australia achieved their highest ever run in the Women’s ODIs as they smashed India’s 330 in Visakhapatnam. A record 339 to chase in the semi-final, 25-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues’ maiden World Cup century propelled India to the final, and a new team record.
Fellow finalists South Africa have also twice bettered their WWC best of 305/9 against England in 2017. The first was a stunning 312/9 in 40 overs against Pakistan, which they defeated by SA’s WWC record margin of 150 runs. The run-rate of 7.8 per over in a WWC is only second in an innings of 40 overs or more, after Australia’s 8.24 against Denmark in 1997. When this counted most, they scored 319/7 against England in the semi-final.
What a semi-final that was, statistically speaking. Laura Wolvaardt’s 169 was her first century in a WWC, and also the first by a captain in a WWC knockout match. Her score went from 100 to 169 in just 28 balls, at a strike rate of 246. In the innings, she went past 5,000 runs in WODIs, only the sixth batter to achieve this. She improved her average to 50.20, the third highest in WODIs for batters who have scored more than 2,000 runs in their career. Only legends Meg Lanning and Mithali Raj precede her. In her 10th WODI century, she is joint fifth with Nat Sciver-Brunt for most centuries in a career. She is the leading run-scorer in this edition of the WWC, with 470 runs, of which some 81 are ahead of Smriti Mandhana. Wolfie is truly a royal butcher.
On the bowling front, Marizanne Kapp’s five-for took her to 44 wickets in the WWC, the most by any bowler, overtaking India’s Jhulan Goswami. Her 5/20 is the best ever bowling by a South African in a WWC, bettering her record of 5/45 against England in 2022. It is also her best bowling in a WODI. She now has 181 wickets in WODIs, third after Goswami (255) and our very own legend Shabnim Ismail (191).
There have been so many remarkable achievements in this WWC, from some of women’s cricket’s biggest current stars. Tazmin Brits became the first batswoman to score 5 centuries in WODIs in a calendar year with her 101 against New Zealand. Ash Gardner has scored the most runs in any WWC (328) by a hitter ranked No. 6 or lower. Nadine de Klerk currently has the highest success rate in this year’s competition, at 136.69. Harmanpreet Kaur and Rodrigues’ partnership of 167 against Australia was the highest ever WWC partnership against Australia, and the second highest all-time partnership against Australia in WODIs.
When the spotlights dim in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, a new name will be engraved on the biggest prize in women’s cricket. This remarkable 2025 edition will be attributed to history, a history that will be rich in records, achievements, stories and images. These images come from the moments that define a sport, create its heroes and cement its legacy for the future. Kappie’s celebration, Jemi’s tears, Wolfie’s calm, Harman’s determination. The inspiration for the next generation.
Written by: James King
#World #Cup #Ages #India #South #Africa #Final #Cricket #Fanatics #Magazine