Women’s Cricket Set To Soar After India’s Historic World Cup Triumph

India claimed a historic women’s World Cup triumph (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Harmanpreet Kaur, quite fittingly, clinched a seismic result that might not only tilt the balance of world power but also undoubtedly lift women’s cricket to great heights. This was the moment a cricket-crazy nation of one billion had been dreaming of for decades.

Sprinting from cover, Harmanpreet, India’s talismanic captain, claimed a terrific catch over her shoulder to dismiss Nadine de Klerk and end South Africa’s own bid for cricket history. She then tore across the ground as the loudest roars ever heard at a women’s cricket game echoed across Mumbai and beyond.

After an epic celebration that will forever be part of India’s sports lore, Harmanpreet capped this momentous night by lifting the trophy high in the sky.

The symbolism was striking. Harmanpreet’s unbelievable 171 not out to blow past superpower Australia at the 2017 semi-finals was seen as the turning point when India’s all-powerful governing body started to seriously fund and put the resources in place for women’s cricket.

Harmanpreet Kaur celebrated India’s title (Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

ICC via Getty Images

The game-changer was the launch of the Women’s Premier Leaguethe counterpart to the men’s money-spinning Indian Premier League which has changed cricket forever.

The WPL’s five teams fetched $572 million on the back of Viacom 18 forking out $116 million for the media rights, ensuring the top players are well remunerated and they’ve become household names in India and beyond.

Jay Shah, the all-powerful Indian administrator who is now ruling world cricketcan easily be lampooned but he deserves credit for being a driving force behind the WPL and putting in place proper pathways for women’s cricket in India.

For once, you couldn’t begrudge Shah feeling rather buoyant at India’s triumph which should inspire the younger generation while also ensuring women’s cricket starts getting the respect it deserves in a part of the world with cultural differences.

Jay Shah was all smiles (Photo by Nikhil Patil/Getty Images)

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Women’s cricket had traditionally been completely dominated by Australia, England and New Zealand, a trio of nations who had won every World Cup in both formats bar the West Indies’ T20 World Cup triumph in 2016.

Women’s cricket has been far slower to develop in South Asia, a cricket obsessed region that is home to a quarter of the world’s population but where women’s sport has not always been accepted.

While there are bitter rivalries in this politically fraught area, marked by tensions between India and Pakistan that spills into cricketundoubtedly girls across the region were pulling for India.

It should provide a boon for countries like Pakistan, who have had grandiose dreams in the past but developing women’s cricket has been a slow burn. Sadly, cricket development in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan will be difficult despite some belated assistance from the sport’s governing body.

Time will tell how much women’s cricket will spread, but the game has certainly been sparked in cricket’s heartland of India. The triumph will surely change the game forever much like what happened in men’s cricket in the aftermath of India’s titles at the 1983 World Cup and 2007 T20 World Cup, flipping the sport on its head.

While Australia has very much been the dominant force in women’s cricket for decades, India inevitably are set to seize the baton – on-and-off the field.

The sleeping giant has awoken after Harmanpreet’s team conjured a run for the ages that will never be forgotten, particularly by her younger compatriots who now know their wildest dreams can come true.