NAVI MUMBAI, India (AP) — India won the Women’s Cricket World Cup for the first time with a 52-run victory over South Africa on Sunday, led by brilliant all-round performances from Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma.

Opening batter Verma, who was only called back into the squad as injury cover for the finals, scored a career-best 87 off 78 balls as the tournament co-host reached 298-7 in 50 overs after losing the toss and being sent in to bat.

South Africa was out for 246 in 45.3 overs in reply with its chase effectively over after skipper Laura Wolvaardt was out for 101. Spinner Sharma took the final wicket of the match and returned bowling figures of 5-39 from 9.3 overs.

“We were waiting for this moment, and now this moment has come,” India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, reflecting on a

See Full Page