In a heartwarming video shared by the ICC on social media, Indian cricket stars Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues were seen stepping away from their World Cup victory celebrations to console the emotional South African players.

The duo was spotted comforting Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, and a few others, who were visibly heartbroken after the final defeat.

Although India registered a dominant 52-run victory to clinch their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title, the South African side - led by captain Laura Wolvaardt (101) - earned widespread admiration for their fighting spirit.

Wolvaardt, who struck a brilliant century in the summit clash and displayed exceptional form throughout the tournament, epitomized South Africa’s determination and grace in defeat. The gesture by Mandhana and Rodrigues has since gone viral, with fans hailing it as a beautiful example of sportsmanship and respect beyond rivalry.

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Both India and South Africa were in pursuit of their first-ever Women’s ODI World Cup title, but in the end, only one team could emerge victorious.

"I could not be prouder of this team for the campaign we had. Brilliant cricket throughout, but outplayed today (by India). Unfortunate to be on the losing side, but we will definitely grow from this. (On coming back from 69 all out and 97 all out against Australia) We did so well to put those couple of bad games behind us. We were either really good or really bad, but thankfully more of the really good.

"Amazing tournament for a lot of the players, and proud of the resilience we showed. (Balancing batting and captaincy) Probably did not have my best year leading into the World Cup and did not start it well. Overthinking, it was not good. It is just another game of cricket, trying to separate the two, and that sort of freed me up a bit to play my natural game and then focus on the captaincy at a different time," Wolvaardt said after the match.