Psalm 30:5 "A night of crying lasts, but morning brings joy." As she led her team to an incredible victory over the defending champions, Australia, in Thursday's World Cup semi-final, Jemimah Rodrigues was chanting that passage of scripture to herself while she battled fatigue.
Over the years, India has shed many tears. In the 2005 World Cup final, they were defeated by Australia after a century from Karen Rolton. Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Deepti Sharma, three members of the current squad, will recall the heartbreaking experience of witnessing their side falter in a run chase of 229 against England at Lord's in July 2017.The last time a team other than Australia or England won the Women's World Cup was in December 2000, which was twenty-five years ago. Whatever happens, a new country will finally have their name written on the trophy at the conclusion of Sunday's final. We will have to wait and see if Monday morning brings India the joy that the psalm promises, but they will get their third chance to win, this time against South Africa.
Rodrigues' exhaustion following her historic century on Thursday serves as a good analogy for the experiences of female cricket players around her country over the last fifty years.For India's women to get to the point where 35,000 spectators will pack a stadium to watch them play in a semi-final, they must endure years of arduous struggle against ingrained cricketing chauvinism.
The latest significant national organisation to grant professional contracts to its women's team was the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which waited years before launching the Women's Premier League in 2023. In spite of, not because of, powerful men, India achieved any success on the pitch.
An India victory in front of Mumbai's home fans would be the ideal conclusion to any sports biography.It would undoubtedly help the International Cricket Council change the way people view a tournament that has attracted underwhelming attendance at all non-Indian matches and has been tainted by the absurd choice to hold half of the group-stage matches in Sri Lanka during the monsoon season (final washout tally: six).
More significantly, it might finally provide women's cricket in the most cricket-loving country in the world a level playing field with men's cricket. Harmanpreet's squad would undoubtedly become famous and wealthy if they won the World Cup, something that has never happened in the women's game previously but was experienced by Kapil Dev's team in 1983. Although there are no assurances, it is hoped that some of it may even seep downstream.

Of course, the fun thing about sports is that no one can predict the outcome, not even Jay Shah, the chair of the ICC. Anyone who claims that one side is the overwhelming favourite on Sunday hasn't focused sufficiently on how these two teams have performed throughout the competition. Both Australia's 97 and England's 69 bowlings terminated South Africa's group-stage campaign. India appeared at one time to have little chance of making it to the knockout stages after losing a match against England that they should have won.

Remember that tensions will already be high, and that two of the most ferocious personalities in women's cricket will be facing off in this final. In a Hundred final, Marizanne Kapp's bowling was so fierce that she nearly single-handedly helped her team defend 121. Harmanpreet, on the other side, would be eager to record a game-winning century. He has already scored two half-centuries in this event, including 89 in the semi-final match against Australia.
After the semi-final, Alyssa Healy declared, "Harman doesn't fail to step up when India needs her." "On Sunday, she will need to repeat everything in order to get them over the finish line."