Women’s World Cup 2025 Team of the Tournament; no place for Marizanne Kapp in playing XI

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The ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 culminated in a historic victory for India, who secured their maiden title with a compelling 52-run win over first-time finalists South Africa in Navi Mumbai.

The tournament was a spectacular showcase of the global growth of women’s cricket, marked by high-scoring thrillers and individual brilliance. India’s campaign, a rollercoaster of dominant wins, a mid-tournament slump, and a breathtaking semi-final chase against Australia, ultimately delivered a watershed moment for the sport in the nation.

The final itself was a contest of two titans: the aggressive batting of India’s Shafali Verma (87) and the all-round genius of Deepti Sharma (58 and 5/39), who was rightfully named Player of the Tournament for her consistency, including finishing as the top wicket-taker with 22 scalps. For South Africa, captain Laura Wolvaardt stood tall, breaking the record for most runs in a single edition with 571, an effort capped by a valiant century in the final. The packed stadiums and record-breaking performances confirmed the 2025 edition as a grand success.

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Shafali Verma (India) is picked as the 12th man. While she only played a few matches, her Player of the Match performance in the final (87 runs and 2 key wickets) was a game-changer and a memorable moment of the tournament. She came into the XI as a late replacement and delivered a career-best, all-round display on the biggest stage, highlighting the depth and match-winning impact she possesses.

Meanwhile, Marizanne Kapp‘s absence from a tournament’s playing XI is due to a tough competition in the XI and largely due to her bad performance with both bat (4 off 5 balls) and ball (0/59 in her 10 overs) in the final although she had a very strong tournament. She had an amazing tournament, according to her captain, Laura Wolvaardt. She put up strong all-round numbers: 204 runs in seven innings with two fifties, and 12 wickets at an average of 15.33. Her highlight was a 5-wicket haul (5/20) in the semi-final against England, which propelled South Africa into their first-ever World Cup final. She further became the all-time leading wicket-taker in Women’s World Cup history during the tournament, surpassing Jhulan Goswami.

Also READ: PM Modi, Neeraj Chopra, SS Rajamouli and others join celebrations after India’s historic Women’s World Cup 2025 win

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.