Mandhana played a crucial role in India’s victory, scoring 45 runs and sharing an opening stand of 104 runs before being dismissed. Her foundation allowed Shafali Verma (87) and Deepti Sharma to steer the innings, setting South Africa a challenging target of 299.
Deepti then played with the ball and claimed a brilliant five-wicket haul (5/39) as India bowled out South Africa for 246, sealing the country’s first-ever Women’s World Cup title and becoming only the fourth team to win the Women’s ODI World Cup. Mandhana said it felt incredible to finally experience the joy of victory after several heartbreaks in previous campaigns.
“Every World Cup we’ve been in, there’s been so much heartbreak for all of us. However, we’ve always believed we had a bigger responsibility – not just to win, but to continue to grow women’s cricket. And honestly, look at the support we’ve had over the last month and a half. It’s been incredible. To finally be able to lift the World Cup today, I’ll take those 45 sleepless nights for this moment every day. That last World Cup was definitely difficult for all of us. But after that we had a clear focus: to get fitter, stronger and better in every area,” Mandhana told broadcasters after the win.
“And honestly, what’s special about this team – and no one really talks about it – is how much we stuck together. Everyone supported each other, through the good days and the bad. We really celebrated each other’s success. The team environment this time… it was just so positive, so connected. That’s been the biggest difference, I think,” Mandhana added.
Mandhana finished as the second highest run-scorer in the 2025 Women’s World Cup, amassing 434 runs in nine innings at an impressive average of 54.25.
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