India Won ICC Womens World Cup 2025

India Won ICC Womens World Cup 2025

Why in News?

Recently, India created history by winning their first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup title 2025, defeating South Africa.

Highlights of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025

• Host Nation: The 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup was hosted by India and Sri Lanka. It took place from 30 September to 2 November 2025. Earlier India hosted this tournament in 1978, 1997 and 2013.

• • Participation: A total of 8 teams competed in the tournament. The eight teams comprised the host India plus other qualified nations via the qualification process.
  • Tournament Format: Round-Robin followed by knockout stages.

• Winner: India won its first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup title under Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy, defeating South Africa by 52 runs at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

• • • In the semifinal, India defeated champion Australia Women’s Team on 30 October 2025 at Navi Mumbai by scoring 341/5 in 48.3 overs.
    • In the finale, India scored 298/7 in 50 overs and South Africa responded with 246 all out in 45.3 overs.

• Player of the Match: Shafali Verma (87 runs in the finale)

• Player of the Series: Deepti Sharma (22 wickets)

• Prize Money: Around 37.3 crore rupees

Significance of India’s First-Ever Women’s World Cup Win

• • New Milestone: This was India’s first-ever Women’s World Cup title since the tournament began in 1973. Indian women cricketers had reached the finals before in 2005 and 2017 but fell short both times. The win made India the fifth country to lift the ICC Women’s World Cup, joining the ranks of Australia, England, New Zealand, and the West Indies.

• National Pride: India’s World Cup victory brought immense national pride. The victory united the country emotionally, just like earlier moments in men’s cricket such as the 1983 and 2011 World Cup wins. This win enhanced India’s reputation in international sports and demonstrated its growing strength in both men’s and women’s cricket. 

• Inspiration for Girls: This victory will inspire a new generation of girls to take up cricket as a serious career. The success sent a strong message that women could achieve excellence in any field through hard work and determination. The World Cup win gave confidence to parents and communities to encourage daughters to play.

• Gender Equality: The World Cup win will act as a social turning point for gender equality in India. The success of the players will motivate families to support their daughters’ sporting ambitions. Schools and colleges will introduce more programs to promote women’s participation in sports. 

Women’s Cricket in India: Journey, Growth, and Recognition

• Women’s cricket in India began in the early 1970s when the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) was formed in 1973. The first official women’s match in India took place in 1973, and the team played its first international Test match against the West Indies in 1976. The early years were full of challenges as the players lacked financial support, training facilities, and professional recognition.
• India played its first Women’s World Cup match in 1978, hosted at home but defeated. In the 2000 World Cup, India reached the semi-finals. The arrival of cricketers like Anjum Chopra, Mithali Raj, and Jhulan Goswami in the late 1990s gave the team a new direction. In the 2005 World Cup, held in South Africa, India reached the final for the first time but defeated by Australia.
• In 2006 the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took over the management of women’s cricket from the WCAI. The BCCI provided contracts, coaching staff, and international exposure to players. Players began receiving match fees and access to top-class fitness programs.
• The 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup became a landmark in India’s cricket history. The Indian team, led by Mithali Raj, reached the final at Lord’s, London. India lost to England by nine runs.
• The launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in 2023 marked a new chapter of professionalism in Indian women’s cricket. The league allowed players to compete with international stars in a high-quality T20 format. The WPL created financial stability for players and improved the standard of domestic cricket.

Government Initiatives Empowering Women in Sports

• Khelo India Scheme – ‘Sports for Women’ component: The Khelo India Scheme is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS) that includes a dedicated “Sports for Women” sub-component. Under this component:

• Since 2020, approximately ₹ 9.5 crore were released specifically to boost women’s participation in sports.

• The initiative has organised women’s leagues in 21 sports disciplines, conducting about 575 competitions involving over 60,147 women athletes.
• A portal named ASMITA (Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women through Action) was launched on 22 August 2023 to give identity to women athletes via the leagues.

• Institutional Support: The government has taken concrete steps to increase infrastructure and training opportunities for women in sports. 

• • Under the “Sports for Women” sub-component, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) established one National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) and three SAI Training Centres (STCs) exclusively for women athletes.
  • Women athletes were enrolled under talent-search and development programmes with financial assistance — the scheme covered around 1,374 women athletes under training across the country.
  • The budgetary allocation for MYAS in FY 2025-26 was approximately ₹ 3,794 crore, which includes funding for Khelo India indirectly supporting women’s sports infrastructure.