NEW DELHI: If there was one unsung hero of the Indian women's cricket team's maiden World Cup victory, it would have to be head coach Amol Muzumdar - a player renowned for his batting prowess with over 11000 runs in domestic cricket, yet one who never represented India.

Muzumdar was undoubtedly one of the greats - if not the greatest - of his era, which featured legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly. Yet, his unfulfilled dream of representing India never dampened his love for the game. Instead, he began a new journey with the women's team, determined to create history for the nation.

Eleven years after his retirement, what unfolded on November 2, 2025, was pure history - Muzumdar etched his name in golden letters, guiding the Indian women's team to their maiden ODI World Cup triumph.

Muzumdar described his team's historic World Cup triumph as a "watershed moment" for Indian cricket, lauding his players for their relentless work ethic and composure under pressure.

"So proud of the girls. I don't know It's not yet sink in but it's an unbelievable achievement by all the girls and they deserve every credit. They deserve everything that that will follow because they have worked terribly hard.

"It's a watershed moment for Indian cricket."

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The night belonged to Shafali Verma, who produced a sensational all-round display - smashing a quickfire 87 and then returning with two wickets for 36 runs in seven overs.

Praising the 21-year-old opener, Muzumdar said: "One word - magical. Absolutely magical. She turns up in the semi-final, no pressure in the final in front of a packed home crowd, plays a blinder of an innings and then picks up a few wickets with the ball."

India had endured a tough middle phase in the tournament, losing three games on the trot to South Africa, Australia and England. But the coach said the team never saw those results as setbacks.

"We didn't look at those losses as losses. We just thought that we just couldn't get over the line. That's about it. We dominated a lot majority of those matches so we didn't look at this as losses," he said.

"We just thought that there are some hiccups in the campaign. We were still alive in the tournament and here we are on 2nd November 2025 World Champions."

The coach also credited India's vastly improved fielding and fitness levels for playing a decisive role in the title win.

"Absolutely, I mean that was one thing that we spoke a lot in the dressing room. In the last two years that your feeling and fitness was something that we really spoke about and we focused on it.

"And here we are, I mean, they just turned it up on this day in the World Cup final. I couldn't have asked for more."