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India’s women’s cricket team clinched their first Women’s World Cup title, defeating South Africa, with Sunil Gavaskar hailing its impact on the long run of girls’s cricket in India.
Gavaskar reacts to comparision between India’s 1983 World Cup victory and Women’s World Cup triumph 2025
The Indian women’s cricket team’s wait was finally over on Sunday night once they defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the ultimate to clinch their maiden Women’s World Cup title. The triumph evoked memories of India’s iconic 1983 men’s World Cup victory under Kapil Dev — when a young, fearless team stunned the mighty West Indies. Yet, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar feels the 2 historic achievements belong to different contexts.
In his column for The Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote, “The win once more emphasised, if ever it was needed, that sporting intelligence wins trophies, not fancy degrees from universities. It also proves that it’ll invariably be Indian coaches who get the perfect results since they know the players – their strengths, weaknesses, and temperament – and understand the nuances of Indian cricket higher than any foreigner, nevertheless completed she or he could also be.”
The previous India captain further explained why he doesn’t equate the 2025 triumph with the boys’s 1983 win.
“There have been some who tried to match this win with the boys’s team winning the World Cup in 1983. The boys had never progressed beyond the group stage in earlier editions, and so all the things from the knockout stage onward was latest to them, while the ladies already had a greater record, having been in two finals before this magnificent triumph.”
While Kapil’s men were complete underdogs, Harmanpreet’s side had already announced their arrival on the world stage, reaching the ODI finals in 2005 and 2017, and the T20 World Cup final in 2020. Still, Gavaskar acknowledged the monumental scale of their achievement.
“Just because the ’83 win galvanised Indian cricket and gave it a voice that was heard around the globe, this victory will make the countries that began women’s cricket long before India did realise that their era of domination has been shaken. The ’83 win also encouraged parents of aspiring cricketers to let their children take up the sport,” he noted.
Gavaskar also highlighted how this historic win could transform the long run of girls’s cricket in India.
“Similarly, this win will give latest wings to women’s cricket, bringing more girls into the sport from the remotest parts of India. The WPL has already begun that process, as parents now see the game as a real profession option for his or her daughters and are more willing to support them,” the previous captain added.
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way in which for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I actually have had …Read More
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way in which for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I actually have had … Read More
November 05, 2025, 10:57 IST
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