A number of Indian players topped the chart in several categories

The Indian women’s team won their maiden ICC World Cup 2025 by defeating South Africa in the final. There is no doubt that the victory was a collective effort, and every player in the team made their contribution to ensure India’s historic victory. Having said that, some players obviously did a little more in terms of performance and therefore received special awards for their efforts, whereas a few others set historic records.

In this year-end series recap, let us recognise those special talents.

Player of the Match

(Credit- NDTV)

Winning the World Cup is already a massive achievement, but if you are one of the main reasons for that victory, then it is a cherry on top. For Shafali Verma, the feeling was no different, given she was awarded the Player of the Match award in the final of the tournament for her 87 runs off 78 balls that helped India post a defendable target of 298 runs.

Player of the Tournament

(Credit- Livemint)

The Player of the Tournament award was also secured by an Indian player, i.e., all-rounder Deepti Sharma. In the final, Deepti scored 58 runs and picked five wickets of South Africa to help India lift the trophy. Overall, in the tournament, she picked 22 wickets in nine innings. Sharma also became the only player across men’s and women’s World Cups to score above 50 and pick five wickets in a World Cup knockout game.

Mandhana’s maximum

(Credit- NDTV)

Smriti Mandhana created a world record by becoming the highest run scorer in the World Cup. In nine innings, Mandhana scored 434 runs at an average of 54.25. She also hit one century and was not out in an innings. Earlier, India’s highest run scorer was Mithali Raj, who made the record in the 2017 edition of the World Cup.

Record-breaking World Cup total

India, as a team, set the record for the highest total in a World Cup final. The Women in Blue scored 298/8, which is the highest ever total scored in the final of the tournament’s history. However, on that day, many felt the team was short of 30-40 runs, but fortunately, the team managed to defend its 298.

Prize money

ICC also created history by awarding a whopping INR 37.3 crore to India for lifting the World Cup, which is the biggest payout in the tournament’s history, reducing the gap in gender pay.

As the year comes to an end, we hope the Indian women’s team will carry the momentum and become a dominant side, just like their men's counterpart. We also pray that India’s women, across age groups and strata, will take an interest in every sport.