CUP IN HAND: STARS TO SUPERSTARS

Celebrations the order of the day as Harmanpreet & Co soak in the historic moment in Navi Mumbai

- GOMESH S @Navi Mumbai

"Bas karo yaar (Let's finish, guys)," laughed the Indian captain Harmapreet Kaur, almost as a request to the reporters in front of her, looking at the team media manager. She is sitting in the press conference room of the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai with a trophy she has watched and longed for years by her side the World Cup.

A little over thirteen minutes had gone into the post-match press conference after the Women's Cricket World Cup final which India beat South Africa to win their first ICC title - and Harmanpreet now wanted to be back in the middle of the ground or the dressing room surrounded by her teammates and family, celebrating. Understandably so. This is a moment she had waited her entire career for.

Ever since she made her India debut in 2009, Harmanpreet had represented India in four ODI and nine T20 World Cups before the 2025 edition. Twice India made it to the finals-2017 with Harmanpreet as a key player and 2020 with the Punjab cricketer as the captain- but ended up as runners-up. So close yet so far. Year after year, Harmanpreet and her team suffered multiple heartbreaks, but those agonising defeats only made them more resolute and hungry. Coming into Sunday's summit clash against South Africa, she knew that the wait had to end at some point. And it had to be in front of a home crowd at the DY Patil Stadium a venue that had become the unofficial home of the women's team-on what was perhaps her last chance to win the World Cup. After two hours of rain delay and seven hours of high-pressure cricket, that dream had become reality.