India’s victory in the final of the ICC ODI World Cup Women’s Championship against South Africa at Navi Mumbai on Sunday will open up whole new vistas for women’s cricket in India.

This is not to say other women’s sports in India have lagged behind. In fact, since the glory days of PT Usha in athletics in the 1980s, our sportswomen have been at the forefront in many fields, including tennis, badminton, table tennis, shooting, boxing and wrestling.

But in India—for better or for worse—it is success in cricket that elevates a sportsperson to stratospheric heights, and in that sense the women’s team have finally fulfilled their potential after falling short on many occasions.........

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