Head coach Amol Muzumdar dissected how India's Women's World Cup 2025 campaign has been 'surreal'. India recently clinched their maiden Women's World Cup title by defeating South Africa in the final by 52
runs on November 2 in an epic encounter staged at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.
Muzumdar praised the way the Women in Blue did not lose hope despite three back-to-back defeats in the league phase. He commended the manner in which the unit performed against Australia in the semi-final and the final to ultimately win the title.
"It's been surreal. This entire campaign has been surreal. We started off nicely with two wins, and then we lost those (three) matches. Loss is a very harsh word, I feel we just couldn't go and cross a line on those occasions, but the way these players came back and fought it out in the middle, it just goes to show what characters they are and the fight that they showed against Australia. The way they came back against Australia and then the finals, the emotions were absolutely flowing. It's just an amazing campaign, and I'm really happy and thrilled for these girls that they've become world champions," Muzumdar was quoted as saying by Mint.
India Womenkicked off their campaign with triumphs by 59 runs (via DLS method) and 88 runs against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, respectively. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side ended fourth on the table with seven points in as many matches. They then chased down a record 339 against defending champions Australia to set up the final against the Proteas in Navi Mumbai. Defending 299 for victory, the hosts bowled the South Africans out for 246 in 45.3 overs.
Shafali Verma, who came in as an injury replacement ahead of the knockouts, was awarded the Player of the Match award for 87 off 78 and 2/36 in seven overs. Deepti Sharma, for her 215 runs and 22 wickets, was awarded the Player of the Tournament accolade. India will now next face Australia in an all-format series Down Under next year in the months of February and March.
