Growing up in a small town in Haryana, Shafali Verma had a blazing passion for cricket but faced a huge problem—girls weren’t allowed to play. At just nine years old, her love for the game was so strong that she cut her hair short and entered a tournament disguised as her brother. Guess what? She won the man of the match! Her father, Sanjeev, refused to give up. When no cricket academy would accept his daughter, he enrolled her as a boy – “luckily, nobody noticed,” he said. By 15, Shafali debuted for India’s national women’s cricket team. On Sunday, history was made. Shafali and her teammates lifted the Women’s Cricket World Cup trophy - the first time for India ever! Their hard work, fighting social stigma, managing jobs, and facing lack of resources made this victory taste even sweeter. Cricket is almost like a religion in India, but for a long time, it was seen mostly as a “gentleman’s game.” Only recently have Indian women been given full-time contracts (2017) and a Women’s Premier League started (2023). Varnika Choudhary, a player from a cricket-loving village, told how it took two years to convince her parents to let her play. But now, everyone from her village cheered the team’s win. People even said about Shafali, “wow she’s hitting like a man.” She corrected them saying, “no she’s hitting like a woman.” Hundreds of millions of Indians watched the final. Many see this win as a giant leap for women’s rights in India's tough, traditional society. Varnika said, “More women playing cricket changes everything, not just in the sport. We feel independent, we feel we are doing something for ourselves and that society can finally see us equal to the men.” Famous cricket writer Sharda Ugra said, “For Indian women in the public space, your body is usually seen as a source of honour or shame. So to see these girls – who mostly come from rural small towns – running around, sweaty, shouting, screaming and uninhibited about what they looked like, sent a very powerful message. It was quite wonderful to see.” Led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the team was celebrated like kings and queens, even meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kaur said after the match, “the revolution, the change we want, won’t come” without this trophy. Though the Women’s Premier League has only five teams and resources are still limited, this win is sparking dreams everywhere. At a cricket academy in Delhi, 11-year-old Kiera Kareer said, “This winning match proved to everybody that women’s cricket is as good as men’s... they played better than the men.” Spreeha Maurya, 18, who was once the only girl in her academy, shared how the final inspired her and said, “It’s not a gentleman’s game any more.” Her father, Rudal Maurya, watched the number of girls at trials jump from 40 to 500 this year. He said, “The mindset is changing, so many more parents will bring their girls for training now, and that can change the society.” India’s women cricketers are not just champions on the pitch — they are champions for equality and new hopes for millions of Indian girls dreaming big.