Navi Mumbai: Indian girls’s cricket stands on the point of a watershed second, paying homage to the boys’s historic 1983 triumph, with the Harmanpreet Kaur-led facet decided to finish its ICC trophy drought when it faces a formidable South Africa within the Ladies’s World Cup ultimate right here Sunday.

The thirteenth version of the World Cup is assured to crown a brand new champion — between third-time finalists India and first-time finalists South Africa — each driving on the again of outstanding campaigns.

A title triumph might set off an unprecedented surge of curiosity in girls’s cricket in India, inspiring a brand new technology of younger ladies to take up the game — maybe much more than the arrival of the Ladies’s Premier League did three seasons in the past.

However the hosts might want to shortly transfer previous their emotionally draining semifinal win right here three nights in the past — one that may have already earned them the “favourites” tag.

Jemimah Rodrigues’ unforgettable 127 not out and Harmanpreet’s gritty 89, coupled with an uncharacteristically erratic outing from seven-time champions Australia, carried India into one more summit conflict — a stage the place heartbreak has struck far too usually.

India’s nine-run loss to England within the 2017 ODI World Cup ultimate nonetheless lingers painfully for many who have been a part of that marketing campaign, together with Harmanpreet. It was adopted by a slim five-run defeat to Australia within the 2023 T20 World Cup semifinal and one other gut-wrenching loss to the identical opponents within the 2022 Commonwealth Video games gold medal match.

For India, the battle is now not about proving ability or type, however about crossing the elusive ultimate hurdle that has so usually tripped them — together with on this very event.

South Africa, in the meantime, won’t thoughts the “underdog” tag. They’ve proven outstanding resilience by the event — from being bowled out for 69 towards England in Guwahati to later thrashing the identical opponent on the similar venue, and recovering from a 97 all-out towards Australia in Indore.

Finally, the competition will come all the way down to which crew handles the stress higher. For Harmanpreet Kaur, it may very well be the ultimate alternative to etch her identify in historical past as the primary Indian girl to elevate an ODI World Cup as captain.

Groups (from):

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetry (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh Thakur, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav.

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Karabo Meso (wk), Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Nondumiso Shangase, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune.