‘As long as someone beats…’: New Zealand PM’s tongue-in-cheek reaction to India’s World Cup win turns heads

Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, grabbed global cricket fans’ attention with a light-hearted comment following India’s historic Women’s World Cup triumph. The remark came during a recent event in Auckland, where Luxon hosted India’s Union Minister Piyush Goyal as both nations discussed a potential Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The event was also attended by members of the Indian diaspora and community leaders.

Speaking to ANI, Luxon turned heads with a cheeky comment about Australia. He said that after the New Zealand women’s team failed to reach the final, he was rooting for India to lift the trophy, especially after their stunning semifinal victory over seven-time champions Australia.

“I watched the highlights of the game last night against South Africa… I just want to say congratulations to them. They were outstanding, truly world-class, and they deserved to win. We’re very proud of them even though we would have loved New Zealand to win…As long as someone beats Australia, that’s all we care about, and that’s what you guys do so well,” he said.

India were the last team to make the semifinals at the 2025 Women’s World Cup, and incidentally had to beat the reigning T20 champions New Zealand, in what was a virtual quarterfinal, to make the last four. The victory marked India’s stunning comeback in the home tournament after they suffered a slump, losing three matches in a row that had seen them drop outside the top three.

In the semifinal, Jemimah Rodrigues’ unbeaten century helped India chase down a record score as the hosts stunned the then-defending champions, handing them their first defeat in 16 matches in the World Cup.

Playing in front of a sold-out crowd at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma’s all-round heroics helped India beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final. It was India’s first world title in women’s cricket, and they became only the fourth team in history to lift the DI World Cup after Australia, England (4) and New Zealand (1).