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Indian batting icon and former captain Virat Kohli on Sunday hailed the women’s cricket team for their historic ICC World Cup triumph against South Africa, calling the victory an “inspiration for generations to come.”

Celebrating the team’s fearless performance and unwavering belief, Kohli said the players had made every Indian proud and deserved every bit of their success. 

"Inspiration for generations to come, you’ve made every Indian proud with your fearless cricket and belief throughout. You guys deserve all the accolades and enjoy the moment to the fullest. Well done, Harman and the team. Jai Hind," he wrote in a post on X.

India defeated South Africa by 52 runs to secure their maiden women's world cup title after heartbreaks in 2005 and 2017 finals. 

In another post on Instagram, Kohli said that the women in blue deserve all the applause for their historic win, which witnessed "years of hard work come to life finally".

"The girls have created history, and I could not be prouder as an Indian to see the hard work of so many years come to life finally. They deserve all the applause and a big congratulations to Harman and the whole team for achieving this historic feat. Also, congratulations to the whole squad and the management for the work behind the scenes. Well done, India. Enjoy the moment to the fullest. This will inspire generations of girls to take up the sport in our country. Jai Hind," Kohli wrote on Instagram.

India Defeats South Africa To Win Maiden World Cup Title

After winning the toss, South Africa elected to bowl first and handed India the task of setting a target. Shafali Verma, eager to bounce back from earlier setbacks, delivered a dazzling 87-run innings, anchoring a 104-run opening stand with Smriti Mandhana.

However, India faced a brief slowdown after the quick dismissals of Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, but Deepti Sharma’s steady 58 off as many balls helped the side regain momentum and reach 298/7 in their 50 overs.

South Africa started with a fifty-run stand, but Tazmin Brits was dismissed at 23 in 35 balls, with two fours and a six. Despite skipper Laura Wolvaardt's dominance, the Shafali Verma (2/36) and Shree Charani reduced SA to 148/5.

A game-changing spell from Deepti removed both set batters Annerie Dercksen and Wolvaardt, which left Proteas struggling at 221/8. Deepti (5/39) eventually managed to convert it into a fiver, and helped India to win its maiden world cup title by dismissing South Africa for 246 runs.