Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur stressed the role of fans and supporters in boosting the morale of the players after returning home after the defeat in the 2017 World Cup final. After missing out on winning the World Cup twice in 2005 and 2017, India’s drought ended with a 52-run win over South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. The 2017 final remained a nightmare that haunted India for many years, especially given India’s position against England at the ‘home of cricket’ Lord’s.
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In 2017, Poonam Raut’s 86 and Harmanpreet’s 51 ensured India remained on track to return home with the coveted title. However, India missed the title by nine runs due to an unprecedented middle-order collapse. When India returned home with heavy hearts, the fans boosted the team’s morale and from that moment on, the women’s team moved towards ending decades of wait. “After the 2017 World Cup, we came close to winning and lost the match by nine runs. We couldn’t understand how it happened, because we were in control. But we were inspired by the Indian fans, who showed that not only us, but the entire country was waiting for that moment when women’s cricket would do something special for them. We were not playing in the stadium. Everyone won it together because it was not possible alone,” Harmanpreet said in a video posted by BCCI.
Eight years later, the moment that Harmanpreet and fans across the country were eagerly waiting for finally became a reality. India posted a challenging score of 298/7 thanks to Shefali Verma’s 87(78) runs and Deepti Sharma’s 58 runs. In reply, captain Laura Wolvaardt single-handedly played a brilliant inning of 101(98) runs to take her team to the target. However, the rest of the compatriots crumbled in front of the Indian spin attack. Deepti Sharma gave the final blow and a wave of excitement ran across India. For Harmanpreet, it was an emotional moment as she was living her childhood dream.
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Harmanpreet said that winning the trophy and then going on shooting was my childhood dream. I’ve been dreaming of this for so many years, and the day is finally here, I’m so excited. Personally, it is a very emotional moment for me. When I started watching cricket, it was my dream to win the World Cup. It’s like magic. I don’t understand how everything is going right, and after all, we are world champions.