Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma's superb all-round showing powered India to a historic first-ever Women's ODI World Cup title after they outclassed South Africa by 52 runs in the final.
Having played the most defining knock of her career to ensure South Africa's maiden entry into Women's ODI World Cup final, skipper Laura Wolvaardt found the feeling to be surreal.
Australia captain Alyssa Healy is set to make a comeback in the ICC Women's World Cup semi-final against India on Thursday.
The Proteas arrive high on confidence, having fought out a hard-earned 1-1 draw in Pakistan last month under challenging conditions.
Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
South Africa coach Shukri Conrad was overwhelmed to see his spinners rule the roost in the first Test against India at the Eden Gardens, signalling to him that the Rainbow Nation is no longer an exclusive "fast bowling country" and hoped that a lot more slow bowlers will emerge.
Sack Gambhir before he damages any more careers, if you must. But it cannot stop there. The project ahead must be bigger, more ambitious, and far more urgent: Rebuilding the spine of Indian cricket from the grassroots up, and giving the Test team the seriousness it deserves. Only then will Indian cricket stop lurching from one crisis to another and begin, once again, to imagine greatness, suggests Prem Panicker.
Kotian took four wickets as India A restricted South Africa A to 299 for 9 on the first day of the opening four-day match at the BCCI CoE grounds in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Abhimanyu Easwaran made the future path all the more tough with his second duck of the match, while Sai Sudharsan concluded his lukewarm preparation for the South Africa Test series with an underwhelming 23 off 38 balls.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will be playing an ODI World Cup final for the third time, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017 to Australia and England, respectively. This will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the final.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
Frustrating to lose wickets to part-timer; SA are doing right to make three finals: Wolvaardt
'I think we've seen on various stages around the world now that they are proper X-factor players and that they have taken to international cricket quite easily.'
Arshdeep Singh has enough experience to understand that the Indian team management is trying different combinations looking at the bigger picture, bowling coach Morne Morkel said.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
The Indian women's team is set to leave for New Delhi from Mumbai on Tuesday for a special meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate their World Cup triumph.
Deepti Sharma, the World Cup's leading wicket-taker who took a magnificent 5/39 in the final, is joined by teammates Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues in World Cup's Team of the Tournament.
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
Harmanpreet Kaur, Smrit Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, and Jemimah Rodrigues are poised to see an uplift of 25 to 35 per cent in brand value.
Pant took a bit to settle into his rhythm behind the stumps, and once he came to terms with the surface and bowlers the wicketkeeper was quite tidy.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
As India chase history at home in Navi Mumbai, while Laura Wolvaardt's South Africa will look to script their own fairytale, by finally breaking their run of heartbreaks at ICC events.
Leg-spinner Alana King's spellbinding wizardry formed the cornerstone of Australia's seven-wicket triumph over South Africa as the defending champions concluded the Women's World Cup league stage firmly on top of the table in Indore on Saturday.
After bowling out SA A for 309, overnight 299/9, in the first session, India succumbed to their own waywardness, and the relentlessness of off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen (5/61), to concede an innings lead of 75.
South Africa will be eager to turn consistent recent form into a title-winning run when they open their women's ODI World Cup campaign against traditional powerhouses England in Guwahati on Friday.
Prem Panicker and Faisal Shariff discuss the World Test Championship final, where South Africa pulled off a magnificent win against favorites Australia.
For India, the battle is no longer about proving skill or form, but about crossing the elusive final hurdle that has so often tripped them -- including in this very tournament.
Pakistan collapsed from 362-5 to 378 all out as Muthusamy finished with Test best figures of 6-117.
Earlier, after incessant rain interrupted the exciting contest, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to field against the hosts India.
'Funny enough, I'm not one for records, but when you mention Meg Lanning, I'm glad I'm above that one. As long as we are winning the games, then I'm all good.'
South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt said that once their Women's World Cup contest against Sri Lanka was reduced to 20 overs a side, she treated it like a T20 game and came out to bat with the same mindset, in Colombo, on Friday.
South Africa spinner Prenelan Subrayen, who was reported for illegal bowling action in the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia last month, has been cleared by the ICC.
India's Test No 3 Sai Sudharsan said his primary aim is to win matches for the team rather than focusing on individual goals.
Left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza was the pick of the home bowlers with figures of 4-98, while leg-spinner Vincent Masekesa took 2-117.
Deepti jumps two places to 5th, Mandhana continues to hold top spot in ODI rankings
Abhishek Sharma's flamboyance will meet its match in Shaheen Shah Afridi's precision in what promises to be an "edge of the seat" battle in the Asia Cup final on Sunday.
Bengal will be bolstered by the return of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami who has who has been out of India contention since the Champions Trophy.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test between India and West Indies in New Delhi on Sunday.
Matthew Breetzke became the first player to score half centuries in each of his first five One-Day International appearances as South Africa beat England by five runs in the second ODI at Lord's on Thursday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances