The India women’s team has been fanaticlaly followed at home (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Images of these national heroes and India’s tri-color flags festooned everywhere you look in this famous financial city with more than 20 million residents. Huge crowds filled with giddy fans camped out in front of the team’s hotel like they are waiting for popstars to emerge.
Welcome to Mumbai, currently in a frenzy ahead of hosting India’s semi-final blockbuster against defending champions Australia on Thursday.
Living up to the hype and the great expectations, this World Cup has been transformative with huge crowds amid much spotlight to underline the enormous growth of women’s cricket.
India, cricket’s heartland and the sport’s wealthiest nation, last hosted the 50-over showpiece in 2013 when women’s cricket was still mostly overlooked, especially in South Asia.
Back then the World Cup was played in mostly empty stadiums and underlined the struggles for women’s cricket to emerge amid cultural differences in this part of the world.
A lot has changed in the last 12 years, with the advent of well-heeled T20 franchise leagues – notably the Women’s Premier League in India – and players have become household names in the cricket world, especially in India where cricket is fanatically followed.
India’s Amanjot Kaur celebrates after the dismissal of Bangladesh’s Sharmin Akhter (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Having developed women’s cricket well after trendsetters Australia and England, India have started to push their fellow powers and famously defeated mighty Australia in the semi-finals of the 2017 World Cup in the U.K.
Superstar Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbelievable 171 not out was seen as a turning point and it wasn’t long until India’s top administrators started to seriously develop women’s cricket.
Jay Shah, now ruling world cricket, was a key behind the advent of the game-changing WPL, whose five teams fetched $572 million on the back of Viacom 18 forking out $116 million for the media rights for the next five years.
The still fledgling WPL will surely eventually mirror the Indian Premier League, which behind all the glitz and glamor has sped up development of young Indian male cricketers. Something similar is hoped for the country’s women cricketers, who have never won a World Cup in either format before.
With the spotlight shining brightly, there has been suffocating pressure during this home World Cup on India who haven’t handled it well but did enough to reach the semi-finals where they meet unbeaten Australia.
Australia have been dominant so far in the World Cup (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Australia are the red-hot favorites to become the first team to defend their 50-over World Cup title since 1988. So dominant are they that Australia’s dominance feels something like Team USA in basketball – it will take something utterly special to knock them off.
Fuelled by their frenzied fans, India might be the only team capable of conjuring a major upset and if they do then you feel the momentum will be unstoppable in the final against South Africa or England.
An India triumph could prove a harbinger for world cricket, something like India’s titles at the men’s 1983 World Cup and 2007 T20 World Cup. Absolute bedlam will ensue and it will no doubt fast-track India and the popularity of women’s cricket generally.
But, before these grandiose dreams, India needs to defy all the odds and take down Australia. The world will be watching.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlavalette/2025/10/28/amid-world-cup-fever-india-can-transform-womens-cricket-forever/
