The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women’s team scripted history by clinching their first-ever Women’s ODI World Cup title, defeating South Africa in a thrilling final at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai, on Sunday, November 2.
A day after the landmark win, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled a huge cash reward to honour the team’s achievement on the world stage.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝑪𝑪𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 — 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 — 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 ₹51 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒆,” 𝑩𝑪𝑪𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒋𝒊𝒕 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂.
Saikia also highlighted that the ICC has significantly increased the prize fund this year, reinforcing support for women’s cricket.
He added:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏’𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 3.88 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 14 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒔.”
How the Final Unfolded
Choosing to bat first after being invited to the crease, India put up a strong 298/7 in their 50 overs.
Shafali Verma dazzled with a career-best 87 off 78 balls, while Deepti Sharma contributed a crucial 58 runs to steady the innings.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt kept the chase alive with a magnificent 101 off 98 balls, but lacked sustained support from the other end.
India’s bowling unit stepped up at the right time — Deepti Sharma shone with the ball as well, claiming 5/39 and dismantling South Africa’s hopes.
Shafali proved her all-round value by adding two more wickets to her scoreboard dominance.
The Proteas eventually crumbled for 246 in 45.3 overs, handing India a memorable World Cup glory moment.
BCCI Prize Money Breakdown — A Record Leap
A new era began at this World Cup as the ICC introduced equal prize money for men’s and women’s tournaments — a monumental step by BCCI toward gender parity in cricket.
- India’s ICC prize payout: ₹37.3 crore
- Winner’s prize increment vs 2022 edition: 239% increase
- Total tournament prize pool (2025): ₹116 crore
- (Compared to ₹29 crore in 2022)
The 2025 prize pool even surpasses that of the 2023 Men’s World Cup (₹84 crore) — making this event historic in more ways than one.
Also Read: Shafali Verma’s Historic Knock Powers India — New Record in World Cup Final
