This team deserves to be there – Harmanpreet Kaur on India winning the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup

Harmanpreet Kaur led India to a moment of a lifetime as the Women in Blue lifted the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, defeating South Africa emphatically in the grand finale in Navi Mumbai. Even though she couldn’t add too many runs with the bat, falling for just 20, her electric presence in the field was absolutely instrumental. She capped it all off with a phenomenal catch of Nadine de Klerk as India delivered the coup de grace to lift the hallowed silverware for the first time.

Talking at the post-match presentation, Harmanpreet Kaur said, “I'm so grateful for this crowd. They've been so amazing. Thank you, thank you, guys, for being there for us, in all our ups and downs. And credit goes to our entire cricket team, BCCI, selectors, everyone back home, thank you, thank you so much.”

She revealed how India rallied their way back after suffering three straight defeats, stating, “Last game also we spoke, that self-belief was there that, you know, even though we lost three back-to-back games, but we knew this team had something special to turn things around the table. So I think credit goes to each and every member. They stayed positive. They knew what we had to do in the next three games. And I think everybody was so involved. They were there for day and night. I think this team deserves to be there.”

Sharing how bringing in Shafali Verma was a game-changer, Kaur added, “I mean, when Laura and Sune were batting, they were looking really good. And I just saw Shefali standing there. And the way she was batting today, I knew today's her day. She was showing something special today. And I just thought I have to go with my gut feeling. If my heart is saying I could give at least one over to her, I'm going to give her. And then I just asked her, can you bowl one over? And she was so ready. And she always wanted to bowl for the team. And I think that was a turning point for us. When she came to the team, that time we spoke to her, we might need to bowl two or three overs. Then she was like, no, if you give me the ball, I'm going to bowl 10 overs for the team. And that showed how confident she was to bowl for the team. And I think credit goes to her, she was so positive. She was there for the team.”

She concluded by saying about the overall total of 298, stating, “No, actually today's pitch was totally different because of the rain and the overhead condition. We knew this total was enough for the final game because in the final game, you always have a little extra pressure on you. But still, we should give credit to the South Africa team. They batted beautifully. The last moment, they panicked a little bit. And that's where, you know, we catch the game. And I think we, as a group, we have been talking about, you know, once they started doing a little bit, you know, something here and there, we have to catch that. And I think at the right time, Deepti came and took those crucial wickets.”