They thought their dream was being snatched away from them. Quite a few times, in fact. After three consecutive defeats in the group stage, after an injury to a key player on a night when the weather gods acted finicky, after staring at a mountain of runs against the erstwhile champions in the semifinals, and after South Africa threatened to hunt them down in the final.
But Harmanpreet Kaur and Co have shown they are also escape artists. Sunday’s historic triumph was no different.
Batting first, India played it safe. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur said they didn’t want to be over-ambitious with the bat and settled for 300 as a competitive target to defend in a final. They fell short by one run. And the way South Africa crafted their chase, it seemed India had miscalculated. “There was a lot of tension in between when they were batting,” Harmanpreet admitted.
Yet again, though, India dug into their endless resource of guts and grace to swing the momentum back in their favour and lifted the trophy to end decades of heartbreak. And between Harmanpreet’s catch and the midnight party on the ground, India’s players reflected on the key moments that turned the tide.
Amanjot’s direct hit to run out Brits
“In such situations, in these matches, fielding is essential to win. You may get out while batting, you may concede fours and sixes while bowling… that’s not in your control. But you can give an extra push in fielding, put extra effort…” — Radha Yadav
South Africa needed just 52 balls to reach 50 and Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits had silenced the capacity crowd with their flawless batting. The innings was only nine overs old and Harmanpreet had already tried four different bowlers, but none could stem the early flow. It was the first of many times on the night that it felt like the match was slipping away from India. But they found inspiration just at the right time.