The way the team environment is, that's really magic – Smriti Mandhana

As India secured the ICC Women’s World Cup, Smriti Mandhana played an instrumental role in the Women in Blue's path to the summit. She finished as the leading run-scorer for India, with 434 runs at an average of 54.25, including an important 45-run knock in the final.

Talking in a post-match interview, Smriti opened up on the emotions of winning the trophy, while also highlighting the responsibilities that come along with it.

Revealing her emotions, Mandhana said, “I don't know how to react to that. It is still sinking in. As you said, I haven't been emotional on a cricket field. But yeah, I mean, this is a very unreal moment. Home World Cup and yeah, I mean, to be the champion in India, I mean, I just can't. I'm still not able to process it.”

Shedding light on the bigger picture that will be following, Smriti added, “I mean, every World Cup we go in and there have been so many heartbreaks for all of us. But yeah, I mean, we always believe that we have a bigger responsibility with women's cricket. And genuinely, just to see the support we've got over the last one and a half months and to see people come and support us. I mean, I don't know how to explain the last 40 days. But yeah, I mean, to end it with a World Cup win today, I mean, I will take that 45 days of not sleeping every night.”

She concluded by saying, “The last T20 World Cup for sure was a difficult one for all of us to take. But yeah, I mean, we had a focus on really, you know, trying to work on our fitness, trying to be better at each and every aspect. But I mean, the super strength of this team is no one will talk about it, but it's the way everyone's just stuck in and just playing for each other. I don't know, in a World Cup like this, you just need everyone's support. Everyone was there for each other, good days, bad days. We enjoyed each other's success. I mean, I just can't tell you the way the team environment is and I think that's really magic.”