Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 12:23pm on 02 Nov 2025,Sunday Sports
India dominated the powerplay in the Women's World Cup final against South Africa, reaching 66/0 after 12 overs with openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma building a strong foundation. This marked India's best powerplay of the tournament with 64 runs from the first 10 overs, and only the fourth 50-run opening partnership in World Cup final history. Mandhana broke Mithali Raj's 2017 record with 416 World Cup runs and displayed sumptuous strokeplay with back-to-back boundaries. Verma showed maturity, mixing caution with aggression. South Africa introduced spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba in the eighth over and tightened control after conceding early runs, with captain Laura Wolvaardt making crucial boundary saves. Marizanne Kapp struggled after initially bowling a maiden. (PC: Reuters & Getty Images)
