"Mandhana and Rodrigues are the darlings of the team": Syed Kirmani on India Women's World Cup success

Mangaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 3 (ANI): Former cricketer Syed Kirmani applauded the Indian women's cricket team's World Cup-winning effort, calling Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues the "darlings of the team", and said the squad's comeback after three straight losses reflected their fighting spirit.

"Individual players like Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues are the darlings of the Indian team, and, along with others, delivered great performances in crunch situations," Kirmani told ANI.

India's years-long dream of capturing the ICC Women's World Cup finally came to an end after two heartbreaks in the 2005 and 2017 finals, as they defeated South Africa by 52 runs in a clinical performance at the finals, which saw Shafali Sharma (87 and 2/36) and Deepti Sharma (58 and 5/39) delivering all-round performances that would stay imprinted in the minds of millions and serve as a tale of inspiration for the cricketers of the future.

Expressing his views on the team's title, the former cricketer said, "Brilliant performance by the women's cricket team; my heartiest congratulations to them! Losing three consecutive games and then making a comeback was a reckless effort by the entire squad. My heartfelt congratulations to all of you. We were praying for your success, and you made the nation proud."

Furthermore, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav congratulated the Indian women's cricket team on Sunday for their historic ICC Women's World Cup triumph, lauding the players for their achievement and announcing a cash reward of ₹1 crore for right-arm seamer Kranti Goud, the state's representative in the winning squad.

"Last night, daughters of the nation did wonders in cricket. I would like to congratulate everyone... MP's daughter, Kranti Goud, is a member of the team. State Government will give her Rs 1 crore for her contribution to the team..." he stated.

Coming to the match, South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first.

A century partnership between Smriti Mandhana (45 in 58 balls, with eight fours) and Shafali Verma kick-started things for India, followed by another 62-run stand between Shafali (87 in 78 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Jemimah Rodrigues (24 in 37 balls, with a four). India was at a fine platform of 166/2.

A 52-run stand between skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (20 in 29 balls, with two fours) and Deepti Sharma took India beyond the 200-run mark. A final flourish by Deepti (58 in 58 balls, with three fours and a six) and Richa Ghosh (34 in 24 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped India reach 298/7 in their 50 overs.

Ayabonga Khaka (3/58) was the leading wicket-taker for SA.

During the run-chase, a fifty-run stand started things for SA, with Tazmin Brits (23 in 35 balls, with two fours and a six) being the first victim. Eventually, despite skipper Laura Wolvaardt's dominance, the golden arms of Shafali Verma (2/36) and Shree Charani reduced SA to 148/5.

Wolvaardt had a 61-run stand for the sixth wicket with Annerie Dercksen (37 in 35 balls, with a four and two sixes), which slowly started to rebuild pressure on India. Wolvaardt (101 in 98 balls, with 11 fours and a six) continued her red-hot form, bringing up her century after having registered 169 against England in the semifinal just a few days back.

However, a game-changing spell from Deepti removed both set batters and had the Proteas struggling at 221/8. She became the first Indian woman with a WC final four-fer.

Deepti (5/39) eventually managed to convert it into a fiver, as India made history to win their maiden WC title by bundling out SA for 246 runs. (ANI)

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