It was all smiles in Navi Mumbai, a sharp contrast to the tears that flowed after the semi-final. Harmanpreet Kaur, beaming, strolled into the press room at DY Patil Stadium with the World Cup trophy tucked under one arm, still looking faintly astonished at what she was carrying.
“I’m just trying to express what I’m feeling. I’m numb, I’m not able to understand,” she admitted, placing the silverware on the table before any questions had even started. The India captain repeated a theme that has followed this squad since the Caribbean tour last winter: “So, it’s just that there were ups and downs, but the team had self-belief. I’ve been saying this since day one. We weren’t looking to the left or right. We were only looking at our main end goal.”
Key facts first, before we drift: India’s 299 for 7 proved just enough, South Africa bowled out 18 short with nine balls unused. Harmanpreet herself completed the formalities, pouching Nadine de Klerk at deep mid-wicket, then sprinting off towards Smriti Mandhana as 43,000 supporters found a fresh reserve of noise.
That moment, she later said, was when reality finally landed. “We felt we could win from the first ball itself because the way our team was playing in the last three games, a lot of things changed for us, especially our self-belief. We have played good cricket for a long time. We knew what we could do as a team. We knew there would be tough conditions for batting, but credit goes to Smriti and Shafali; they handled the first 10 overs very well.”
The opening stand of 88 between Mandhana and Shafali Verma, forged against a lively new ball, set the base. It was hardly flawless—Mandhana survived a tight lbw review on 12, Verma inside-edged inches past leg stump twice—but it allowed the middle order to pace the innings.
For the ninth time in nine matches Harmanpreet called tails, and for the eighth time in nine she lost. She laughed about it. “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,” she said, drawing a grin from coach Amol Mazumdar, who was lurking at the back of the room.
Bat first, post something competitive, squeeze. That was the broad plan all week. Yet the chase, built around Laura Wolvaardt’s elegant 112, became uncomfortably close. “Our aim was simple. We knew that if we thought of a big target, we would come under pressure,” Harmanpreet explained. “The main thing was to keep batting and keep playing our game. We tried to score 300 runs on the board; we were one run short. But after that, I think we came onto the field as a strong unit. Whenever we needed it, we got a breakthrough. It was a very good match.”
Between overs 32 and 41, while Wolvaardt and Sune Luus were motoring, India’s balcony fell unusually quiet. “It seems easy to say now, but there was a lot of tension in between when they were batting – like Laura, she was not giving a chance,” the captain confessed. Disciplined lines from Renuka Singh and the nerve of Pooja Vastrakar at the death finally tipped the scales.
The victory lap that followed felt almost as long as the contest. Former internationals Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Anjum Chopra were coaxed out of the VIP box, handed the cup and nudged to the front. Goswami wiped away tears, Mandhana did the same, though sheepishly. Off-spinner Shreyanka Patil dragged analyst Pratika Rawal, who uses a wheelchair, on to the outfield; Rawal stood briefly, arms aloft, to a roar that rivalled the winning moment.
“Jhulan di was my biggest support,” Harmanpreet said, asked about sharing the lap with her former team-mates. “When I joined the team, she was leading it. She always supported me in my early days when I was very raw and didn’t know much about cricket. Anjum di, too.”
Mazumdar, never one for headline statements, called the win “reward for a lot of small, boring processes”. He pointed to three areas: fitness, clarity of roles, and fielding drills “where the ball is never dead”. The results were visible—Shafali’s low grab at backward point to remove Marizanne Kapp will live long in any highlight reel.
Analytically, India’s tournament hinged on two switches made after the loss to England in pool play. Richa Ghosh was pulled back to No. 5 to exploit the middle-over power surge, and veteran left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad was restored for control. Together they shaved nearly six runs an over from opponents between overs 16-35 across the final three matches. That stat, buried in analyst spreadsheets, mattered as much as Mandhana’s 410 runs or Renuka’s 19 wickets.
“I’m relieved more than anything,” vice-captain Mandhana told host broadcaster Star Sports. “It’s been nine years of hearing about the men’s 2011 moment. Maybe now we’ve got one of our own.” Former Australia captain Lisa Sthalekar, working the same broadcast, called the result “monumental for the women’s game, not only in India but globally”, while cautioning that “sustained investment, not one-off fireworks” would determine the long-term impact.
The immediate future involves an open-top bus parade through Mumbai, then a short break before December’s home T20Is against New Zealand. Mazumdar revealed that several senior players have already asked for an extra week’s rest. “Fair enough,” he smiled, “they’ve earned a proper sleep-in.”
Harmanpreet, still clutching the trophy as the presser wound down, admitted the achievement may take a while to sink in. “At the end of the day, I’m feeling great. I don’t know how to express it, but I’m just trying to tell you what I’m feeling.” The grin returned, a touch sheepish, a touch dazed. She tapped the lid of the cup, almost to check it was real, then headed for yet another photo call.
