India ended years of heartbreak by clinching their first Women’s World Cup title with a comprehensive 52-run win over South Africa in the final.

After a rain-delayed start at a packed DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, India made 298 for seven in 50 overs, thanks to a brilliant 78-ball 87 from opener Shafali Verma.

Star batter Smriti Mandhana (45) and all-rounder Deepti Sharma (58) also came up with important knocks as the home team set the South Africans a challenging target.

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

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In reply, Laura Wolvaardt (101 off 98 balls) scored a magnificent hundred, but the South African captain’s effort was not enough to stop India from clinching a historic World Cup title.

For India, Deepti Sharma took five wickets with her off-spin on a track that offered plenty of turn, reducing South Africa to 246 all out, sparking wild celebrations on the field and in the stands.

The memorable win finally ended India’s long wait for their maiden World Cup trophy, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017.

“Every World Cup we’ve gone into, there have been so many heartbreaks for all of us. But we always believed that we had a bigger responsibility — not just to win, but to keep growing women’s cricket,” an emotional Mandhana said after the final.

“Honestly, just look at the support we’ve had over the last month and a half. It’s been incredible. To finally lift the World Cup today — I’ll take those 45 sleepless nights any day for this moment.”

Medium-pacer Amanjot Kaur said Sunday’s win will inspire the team to dominate world cricket.

“To be here again, as a world champion, it’s unbelievable. This means a lot,” she said.

“You can see the crowd — they’re all around us, the energy is incredible. We’re just getting started. We’re going to take it to the next level and dominate across the world, in every moment.”

Meanwhile, Shafali Verma, who was named player of the final for her sparkling knock and two wickets, was over the moon. 

“Very happy that we won and I cannot express it in words. It was difficult but I had confidence in myself - that if I can stay calm, I could achieve everything,” she said. 

Player of the tournament, Deepti Sharma, credited the team's improvements in recent years for Sunday's magical win.

"We have won the World Cup. There have been a lot of changes since 2017. And I would like to say that the number of matches and the standards have gone up," said Sharma who scored 215 runs and took 22 wickets in the tournament.

Brief scores: India 298/7 in 50 overs (Shafali Verma 87, Deepti Sharma 58; Ayabonga Khaka 3/58) beat South Africa 246 in 45.3 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 101; Deepti Sharma 5/39, Shafali Verma 2/36) by 52 runs