It had been an emotional victory over Australia in the semi-final, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur couldn’t contain her tears in the dugout. But a bright smile took the place of those tears on the day India won their first-ever Women’s World Cup. Self-belief was the phrase Kaur kept using, and the feeling this time was one of a dream realized rather than relief.
In response to a question about how it felt to finally hold a trophy that India had long coveted, Harmanpreet Kaur said she was overcome and found it difficult to comprehend the situation. She said the team had played consistently strong cricket for a long time, always focused on their ultimate aim, and that it had now come together on the grandest platform.
“I’m merely attempting to convey my emotions. I’m numb and incapable of comprehending. It’s just that the team had self-belief despite the ups and downs. This is what I’ve been saying since day one. Neither left nor right was our gaze. We simply have our primary end goal in mind,” Harmanpreet Kaur stated.
Because of the way our team was performing in the previous three games, we felt like we could win right away. This was especially true of our belief in ourselves. For a long time, we have played good cricket. As a team, we recognized what we could do. Although we were aware that the batting conditions would be difficult, she praised Smriti [Mandhana] and Shafali [Verma] for their excellent handling of the opening ten overs.
Wolvaardt refused to give it a chance: Harmanpreet Kaur
Over the course of the competition, Harmanpreet Kaur tossing fortunes had not improved; she had only won one out of nine. In the final, she lost the toss once more, continuing the streak. There were unavoidable anxieties in the Indian camp despite their high sense of belief, particularly since South Africa was still very much in the hunt after Laura Wolvaardt’s century. Only when she was dismissed in the 42nd over did the tide turn drastically in India’s favor.
“From the first ball itself, I had the belief that it doesn’t matter – because we don’t normally win the toss – we knew we had to bat first,” Harmanpreet Kaur explained.
“We had a straightforward goal. We were aware that pressure would mount if we considered a large aim. It was crucial that we continued to bat and play our game. We were one run short of our goal of 300 runs on the board. After that, though, I believe we entered the field as a cohesive team. Every time we needed a breakthrough, it came. It was a great match. There was a lot of tension between them when they were batting; Laura, for example, was not given a chance. It seems simple to explain now. At the end of the day, though, I feel fantastic. She said, “I’m just trying to tell you how I’m feeling, but I’m not sure how to put it into words.”
I had the strongest support from Jhulan: Kaur
With Kaur making the catch and the final wicket falling, India celebrated with a victory lap around the ecstatic DY Patil Stadium. Anjum Chopra, Jhulan Goswami, and Mithali Raj, past players, joined the squad on the field and received the trophy during the festivities, signifying the passing of generations. With tears in her eyes, Goswami was seen hugging Kaur and a few of the current players in the middle of the field.
“My strongest ally was Jhulan di. She was the team leader when I started. She always encouraged me when I was just starting out and knew very nothing about cricket. Also, Anjum di. They have both provided me with a lot of support. That I was able to share a unique occasion with them makes me very happy. The occasion was highly emotional. I believe that everyone was anticipating this. We finally got to touch this prize,” Harmanpreet Kaur remarked.
Everyone was in tears following Rawal’s injury: Kaur
The entire campaign had been emotionally charged. Harmanpreet Kaur disclosed that Pratika Rawl and Yastika Bhatia had sobbed as they exited the changing room due to their injuries. India’s run through the tournament was far from easy; after two early victories, they lost to South Africa, Australia, and England three straight until a pivotal victory against New Zealand guaranteed them a spot in the semi-finals. Their victory over Australia in the knockout game turned out to be the pivotal event that rekindled their campaign.
When Pratika was hurt, everyone was in tears, but they were all so upbeat. Everyone believed that this trophy would be our ultimate goal. We had to continue our diligent labor, day and night. “And this is the outcome,” Harmanpreet Kaur stated.
“This past month has been really fascinating. Things rarely go as planned, and you remain so optimistic in the face of setbacks. For us, a lot changed after that day [the defeat versus England]. We are unable to keep doing the same things again and over. We have to have a solid mentality,” Harmanpreet Kaur continued.
England’s defeat greatly affected us: Harmanpreet Kaur
That loss to England turned out to be a game-changer for the team. To regain focus and composure, the squad retreated inward following the incident and participated in visualization and meditation exercises. The 1983 men’s World Cup victory and this transition have been compared by many as pivotal events that influenced the country’s cricket identity. Harmanpreet Kaur saw this victory as the long-awaited change for a team that had advanced to several finals and semi-finals only to fail heartbreakingly.
“We had a lot of changes that night. Everyone was impacted by it. For the World Cup, we were better ready. We began meditation and visualization. That demonstrated our purpose for being here, and we had to fulfill it this time,” Harmanpreet Kaur said.
We have been discussing this for a long time; we have been playing fantastic cricket, but we needed to win one major competition. Without it, we couldn’t discuss change. Today was our chance to experience the moment we had been eagerly awaiting. She continued, “I’m so happy and proud of this team, but I don’t know how to put it into words.”
The venue change made us all happy: Harmanpreet Kaur
With a joyful embrace for each of her teammates, Kaur ran across the field as the last wicket fell. However, Smriti Mandhana, her longtime partner across 106 ODIs, received the longest embrace. A two-hour rain delay did not deter the 39,555 spectators at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium from continuing to cheer for the local team.
Another lucky location was the DY Patil Stadium, which has played host to a number of women’s internationals and WPL games and is considered to be the spiritual home of women’s cricket in India. Afterwards, Kaur said that the squad had been relieved when the World Cup final was rescheduled from Bengaluru to Navi Mumbai in August.
“Mandhana and I have participated in numerous World Cups together. We always returned home devastated after a loss and remained silent for a few days. We constantly stated, “We have to start again from ball one,” when we got back. The fact that we participated in so many World Cups and made it to the finals, semi-finals, and occasionally not even that far made it devastating. “We were constantly wondering when we would break this,” Harmanpreet Kaur remarked.
Since we’ve always played good cricket at DY Patil Stadium, we were all overjoyed to learn that it would be our new location. “Now that we’re home, we’ll start over,” we declared. We choose to leave past World Cups there rather than reflect on them. Harmanpreet Kaur continued, “The new World Cup has barely begun.
The party went on deep into the night. Following the victory lap and the post-match ceremonies, the squad stayed on the field to enjoy the momentous occasion with their loved ones. They later arrived back at their hotel in the middle of a bustling dhol procession.
“This is the moment we have been anticipating. All night long, there will be festivities. Let’s see what BCCI has in store for us after that,” Harmanpreet Kaur said.
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