Celebrities back the Women in Blue to clinch their maiden World Cup title

For the first time in years, the anticipation for women’s cricket match was as much as it was for any men’s game. The Indian side qualified as finalists only for the second time in the history of Women’s cricket. The Mithali Raj-led side finally got the limelight they deserved and various influential personalities and celebrities have been active supporters of the Women in Blue for the finals.

Akshay Kumar who had been shooting in Leeds, for Gold – the story of independent India’s first Olympic gold win by the country’s men’s hockey team requested the director of his film, Reema Kagti, to finish today’s (July 23) schedule early, so he could cheer for the women in the final match between India and England.

“I’m crazy about cricket and just can’t wait to watch the match. I’ll catch a train from Leeds after my shoot and catch as much as I can on my mobile phone during the journey, and I’ll watch the last two hours [of the match] live from the stands. If I’m allowed, I would even want to go onto the field and meet them [the Indian players],” said Akshay.

Other celebrities also backed the team on Twitter and social media in general with words of support and encouragement, urging the BCCI to reward them with a women IPL apart from the 50 lakh cash prize for each player. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also had a personalised message for each member of the team in order to extend support for the big day.

The difference in attitude towards the women’s team has been visibly positive as shown over the tournament. It is fair to say that the mindsets are changing and we are on our way to larger, consistent progress in all aspects of women’s cricket in India.

Here’s what the Twitter world said: