IND vs SA, Women’s World Cup Final: India post 298/7 but fell short against formidable Proteas bowlers

Although India posted 298/7 in 50 overs in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 final, the Women in Blue fell short by 30 runs after the kind of start given by Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. The fall of wickets and the brilliant bowling by the Proteas bowlers restricted the Indian batters in the death overs.

Madhana and Shafali added 104 runs in 17.4 overs. Shafali amassed 87 runs off 78 balls, with the help of 7 fours and 2 sixes. On the other hand, Mandhana managed 45 runs off 58 balls, laced with 8 boundaries.

Jemimah Rodrigues (24 off 37 balls) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (20 off 29 balls), the top performers of the semi-final against Australia, were not clinical with the bat.

It was down to Deepti Sharma, who scored 58 runs off 58 balls, including 3 fours and 1 six. Richa Ghosh, the designated finisher of the Women in Blue, added 34 runs off 24 balls to the total. The right-handed batter smashed 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Ayabonga Khaka (3 wickets), Nonkululeko Mlaba (1 wicket), Nadine de Klerk (1 wicket) and Chloe Tryon (1 wicket) bowled well for the Proteas.