PM Modi lauds Indian women cricket team's first World Cup victory: 'Your success will inspire millions'

PM Modi at Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025

At the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025 on Monday, PM Narendra Modi hailed the Indian women's cricket team's historic ICC World Cup 2025 victory against South Africa.

PM Modi said that India's first Women's World Cup will inspire millions of young people across the country.

"This event is related to science. But first, I will talk about India's spectacular victory in cricket. All of India is overjoyed with the success of its cricket team. This is India's first Women's World Cup. I congratulate our women's cricket team. We are proud of you. Your success will inspire millions of young people across the country," PM Modi said.

After heartbreaks in the 2005 and 2017 finals, the luck, skill set, balance, and depth favoured Team India; the clinical Women in Blue overcame South Africa, the first-time finalists, by 52 runs to secure their first-ever World Cup title across both T20I and ODI formats.

All-round performances from Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma were the crowning jewels for the team in the title clash.

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.

At the event, PM Modi also launched Rs one lakh crore RDI Fund to spur private sector investments in research and development.

Before the event, PM Modi said the forum will bring together key stakeholders from the world of science, education, research and more.

"It’s a matter of immense joy that the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme Fund will also be launched, giving an impetus to several researchers across India," he said.

With inputs from agencies