India’s men’s T20 team defeated Australia by five wickets in the last over in Hobart. The series is tied 1-1.
The victory celebrations, led by Suryakumar Yadav, were underway when the entire dressing room shifted gears.
All eyes were on Navi Mumbai, where Harmanpreet Kaur’s girls were closing in on winning their first Women’s World Cup.
The scene immediately after the victory was captured in a photo, which was posted by the BCCI on X and immediately went viral.
What’s in the viral photo?
In the photo, head coach Gautam Gambhir is standing closest to the screen. Next to him are Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, fielding coach T. Dilip, and the rest of the players and support staff, all glued to their seats. Some are sitting, some are standing, all eyes are on the TV. The Hobart dressing room had become Navi Mumbai.
Seeing the photo, people commented – “Even the men’s team became fans!” Someone said, “This is true team spirit.”
The BCCI captioned it: “Gautam Gambhir, Jasprit Bumrah and others watching India women’s game (X-BCCI)”.
IND vs SA Women: India dominates the match
Rain ruined two hours in Navi Mumbai, but no overs were lost. India won the toss and elected to bat first. Shafali Verma took the field and created havoc. 87 runs off 78 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, which became her first fifty in three years.
An opening stand of 104 runs with Smriti Mandhana. The score was 172/3 after 30 overs. Then South Africa’s Ayabonga Khaka applied the brakes. Shefali was dropped on 56, but was eventually caught by Khaka.
Jemimah Rodrigues also departed after scoring 24 runs. At the time of writing, India had reached 211/3 in 37 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur and the other batsmen were in a strong position.
This is India’s third World Cup final. They lost in 2005 and 2017. This time they are the hosts and in form. They have defeated South Africa five times in the last six ODIs, with only one defeat coming in this tournament.
South Africa is in the final for the first time. They crushed England by 125 runs in the semi-final. But now India’s dominance is clearly visible.
Shefali’s innings created an atmosphere. The men’s team is also supporting them. From Hobart to Navi Mumbai, the entire cricket family is together.
