India’s women’s cricket team celebrated their historic ICC Women’s World Cup victory by unveiling a long-kept secret—their official team anthem—after defeating South Africa by 52 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday night.
Batter Jemimah Rodrigues revealed that the team had vowed to release the anthem only if they won the World Cup. “We decided this four years back that we would only reveal the team song when we win the World Cup, and tonight’s the night,” Rodrigues said in a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The celebratory song, performed by players, coaches, and support staff, featured powerful lines: “Naa lega koi panga, kar denge hum danga, rahega sabse upar, humara tiranga.”
Batting first, India set a formidable target of 299. South Africa looked strong early in the chase but crumbled after spinner Deepti Sharma’s match-turning spell. From 209 for 5, the Proteas were dismissed for 246. Deepti ended with impressive figures of 5 for 39, while Shafali Verma and Sree Charani claimed crucial wickets.
South African captain Laura Wolvaardt fought valiantly with a 101-run knock but found little support from her teammates as India stormed to victory and claimed their first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup title.
In an emotional gesture, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana presented the trophy to former legends Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, honouring their invaluable contributions to Indian women’s cricket. Nearly 40,000 fans witnessed the historic moment at the packed Navi Mumbai stadium, as chants of “India! India!” echoed through the night.
