India face South Africa in what is set to be a historic final of the 2025 Women’s World Cup on Sunday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Neither side has ever won the trophy, which means that there is guaranteed to be a new name on the World Cup winners’ list at the end of the match.
World Cup wins have gone down in history as seminal moments in men’s cricket for India. The 1983 World Cup win is seen as the start of India’s current dominance in all facets of the sport while the 2011 World Cup victory is often cited as an inspiration for a number of current national team regulars. The Indian women’s team came agonisingly close to winning the title in 2017. However, even that run to the final ended up being a shot in the arm for women’s cricket in India.
This time, Jemimah Rodrigues’ unforgettable 127 not out and Harmanpreet’s gritty 89 helped India to a sensational win against Australia in a record-breaking chase in the semi-final. It is a result that has already sent tidal waves across the country. South Africa, meanwhile, will not mind the “underdog” tag. They’ve shown remarkable resilience through the tournament — from being bowled out for 69 against England in Guwahati to later thrashing the same opponent at the same venue, and recovering from a 97 all-out against Australia in Indore.
India were hurt by the injury sustained by in-form opener Pratika Rawal before the semi-final. Shafali Verma was brought back into the squad in her place and while it turned out to be a historic night for India, Shafali herself did little to allay fears of India’s top order being hurt by Rawal’s absence. However, it would be a surprise if India make any changes to the squad that beat Australia.
Same goes for South Africa. Veteran Marizanne Kapp (204 runs, 12 wickets), Nadine de Klerk (190 runs, 8 wickets), Tazmin Brits (212 runs), Chloe Tryon (167 runs, 5 wickets) and skipper Laura Wolvaardt (470 runs) have all delivered telling performances. As the tournament has progressed, Wolvaardt’s consistency and leadership have taken centre stage, and her partnership with Brits at the top presents a formidable challenge for Indian bowlers.
Here’s a look at the IND vs SA, Women’s World Cup Final Predicted Playing XIs:
IND predicted XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh(w), Radha Yadav, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur
SA predicted XI: Laura Wolvaardt(c), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Annerie Dercksen, Anneke Bosch, Marizanne Kapp, Sinalo Jafta(w), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba
Australia: Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis(w), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Matthew Short, Ben Dwarshuis, Tanveer Sangha
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma
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