World Cup success well worth the wait for Harmanpreet Kaur
India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur felt numb after finally tasting success at the Women's Cricket World Cup at her fifth attempt.
India lift the Women's Cricket World Cup | CWC25
India lift the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup trophy after beating South Africa in the final.
Harmanpreet Kaur has waited a long time for the ultimate success and that's why lifting the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup trophy was extra special for the inspirational Indian captain.
Harmanpreet was one of five players at the tournament to be appearing at their fifth World Cup, with the India skipper having made her international debut at the 2009 edition of the event in Australia in a 10-wicket victory over Pakistan.
India beat South Africa for historic first World Cup title | Match Highlights | CWC25
Hosts India clinched their maiden ICC Women's Cricket World Cup title with a superb win over South Africa in the final.
Years of heartbreak followed for Harmanpreet and India - including a narrow loss to England in the 2017 final at Lord's - so it was no surprise that the veteran was lost for words after the side's 52-run triumph over a gallant South Africa in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
"I'm just trying to express what I'm feeling. I'm numb, I'm not able to understand," Harmanpreet said.
"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."
Harmanpreet relieved after World Cup success | Post-Match Press Conference | CWC25
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed relief after her side tasted success in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Final against South Africa
The victory wasn't only special for Harmanpreet, with a host of Indian greats joining the current team on the field after the match to join in the celebrations in front of a parochial crowd of almost 40,000 people in Navi Mumbai.
Among those former India legends enjoying the celebrations were Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Anjum Chopra, with the trio long-time teammates of Harmanpreet and alongside the 36-year-old when she made her international debut in Australia back in 2009.
"Jhulan di was my biggest support," Harmanpreet said of former India captain Jhulan Goswami.
"When I joined the team, she was leading it and she always supported me in my early days when I was very raw and didn't know much about cricket.
"Anjum di, too. Both of them have been a great support for me and I'm very grateful that I got to share a special moment with them.
"It was a very emotional moment. I think we all were waiting for this. Finally, we were able to touch this trophy."
There was also a special moment after the match for Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana, with the experienced duo reflecting on the many occasions they have shared the field together prior to the World Cup.
"I've played many World Cups with her (Mandhana) and every time we lost, we went home heartbroken and stayed quiet for a few days," Harmanpreet said.
"When we returned, we always said, 'we have to start again from ball one'. It was heartbreaking because we played so many World Cups - reaching finals, semi-finals, and sometimes not even that far. We were always thinking, when will we break this?
"As soon as we got to know that our venue had been changed to DY Patil Stadium, we all got so happy because we’ve always played good cricket there and the biggest thing is the crowd — it’s always so supportive.
"So, when the venue changed from Bangalore, we all started messaging in the group. We were manifesting. We said, 'The final is going to be there — we won’t leave it now.'
"As soon as we reached Mumbai, we said, 'We’ve come home now, and we’ll start fresh.' We didn’t want to look back at previous World Cups — we left them there. The new World Cup had just started."
