LISA STHALEKAR: India’s ODI World Cup win marks new era in women’s cricket

November 2 will go down as one of the greatest days in women’s cricket.

A sleeping giant has now awoken.

India’s ODI World Cup win against South Africa was a seismic shift in the sport — akin to when women first started playing — and the game has changed forever.

Harmanpreet Kaur and her side staged the greatest comeback in World Cup history, winning India’s first trophy in an ICC Women’s event after being on the brink of elimination in the group stages.

In front of a packed home crowd — who no doubt begged, borrowed, and sold their soul for a ticket — they weren’t going to let a little rain at the start of play dampen their enthusiasm.

Everyone felt, as did I, that this was a moment in time you wanted to say you were there for and the Indian women’s team did not disappoint.

Having lost three matches in a row throughout the tournament against England, Australia, and South Africa, India somehow found a way to reach the knockout stages.

Despite the criticism that came their way in the cricket-mad nation, they stuck together.

India needed to escape the ghosts of the past. They came so close to winning the title in 2017 against England at Lord’s; the gold medal match against Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games; and then the semifinal heartaches in the 2018 and 2023 T20 World Cups.

In last week’s semifinal, they again faced the Goliaths of women’s cricket that is Australia.

Enter Jemimah Rodrigues, who had been dropped earlier in the tournament but was elevated to first drop in the semifinal. She played the innings of her life.

Through pure sweat, determination, and prayers, the pocket rocket from Mumbai dethroned the Australians by chasing down 339 — the highest chase recorded in women’s one-day cricket.

The emotion that followed that semifinal success, from both Rodrigues and Kaur, were tears of relief after so many tight tussles with Australia.

For Australia, it was a loss that will hit hard. After steamrolling all in their path and entering the semifinal undefeated, we took for granted they would do the same to India and book themselves yet another World Cup final berth.

But some shoddy fielding helped India record the fairytale win, following Australia’s equally embarrassing exit from the T20 World Cup semifinal at the hands of South Africa.

Cricket Australia has been left scrambling, trying to figure out how it went so wrong one game from the final in two successive big tournaments.

But for the game globally it has changed the landscape forever.

India’s first ODI World Cup win should increase financial support for the game in the most populous of all the cricket-playing countries.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has a bank balance most countries would envy, which means Indian female cricketers will hopefully get support like never before at all levels.

They have topped up India’s prize money with an extra $9.6 million on top of their ICC prize money of $7.1m. The more than $17m will change the lives of the team forever.

Big companies are also seeing what the growth and success of women’s cricket can do for them, with Google and Rexona two big names to get onboard this World Cup.

Women’s cricket was once viewed as an albatross around the neck of national governing bodies and the ICC’s books but now has the potential to provide the biggest growth market the game has seen since Kerry Packer revolutionised the sport with World Series Cricket in the 1970s.

As for Australia, we can no longer assume every trophy will have our name on it and must find a way to counter the new World Cup champions when we next meet.