Women’s World Cup win a bigger feat than 1983 - in more ways than one

It’s the morning after. The history of white ball cricket in India had seen a few magic moments like this – 25 June 1983: 2 April 2011 and now 2 November 2025. The sheer surprise element in the Women in Blue’s maiden ODI World Cup success has led to many comparing it with Kapil Dev & Co odyssey, but it’s actually more than that in many ways.

Yes, ‘83 was a watershed moment in Indian cricket in many ways and makes for an all-too-familiar story which we have greyed on. It took cricket to the drawing rooms of Indian homes and laid the foundation of the country becoming the superpower in the game that it is, but there were no doubters about their game. Much as outsiders they may have been in the limited overs format with the team managing only one win (against the erstwhile East Africa) in two previous editions of the World Cup, most senior members of the team like Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Dilip Vengsarkar or the captain himself were proven stars of the game.

The long awaited success of Harmanpreet Kaur & Co, on the other hand, is a barrier-breaker in more ways than one. Yes, the perception about the abilities of our women cricketers began changing since the 2017 edition when Mithali Raj’s team lost the final at the Lord’s by an agonising nine runs, the Women’s Premier League (WPL) got underway and more importantly, the world governing body had announced a pay parity alongwith India and New Zealand boards.

But then, what about the deep-rooted misogyny and sexist thinking in us which is dormant in us? Just go back barely two weeks in time and you will find the social media space full of trolls after the Women in Blue fell to get over the line from winning positions for three key matches on the trot? The same Harmanpreet, now the toast of the nation and possibly the subject of a Bollywood biopic sooner than later, appeared in a meme showing her in the kitchen with an offensive statement while an old statement from veteran administrator N. Srinivasan was raked up to show how women’s cricket is perceived in this country.

The former BCCI and ICC strongman had said: ‘’If I had my way, I wouldn’t let women’s cricket happen. Women have no business playing cricket. We are only doing this because it is an ICC rule.’’ It’s in this context that Sunday’s phenomenal achievement has to be viewed – though it will be wishful thinking that it will change things for good.

As the night skies of my city lit up at midnight with celebratory crackers, I admit that I never thought that I would live to see such a day. Such spontaneous emotions, as the presence of 35,000-strong crowd at the D.Y. Patil Stadium, were normally the domain of the Tendulkars and Kohli all these decades as a procession of extraordinary women from Diana Eduljee, Shanta Rangaswamy to Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami chipped on to carve an identity of their own.

 Finally, their moment had come and how. What also made the occasion memorable was the conscious effort to honour this legacy of the women’s cricket movement in India – which made a humble beginning with a Test match back in 1976 under a ‘Women’s Cricket Association of India.’ It was hence really thoughtful for the current bunch to coax Mithali and Jhulan, who comprised the Mil-Jhul raj in Indian cricket for two decades, to be a part of their celebrations.

 If Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai saw India wresting the Men's ODI World Cup back after 28 years in 2011, it's distant neighbour D.Y. Patil Stadium was witness to something more historic – if not political - last night.

 Women in Blue, take a bow!