India captain Harmanpreet Kaur revealed that batting legend Sachin Tendulkar reached out to the workforce a day earlier than taking part in the 2025 Ladies’s ODI World Cup ultimate, including that he supplied phrases of encouragement and shared his personal experiences from taking part in on the grand stage.
The decision from Tendulkar, who famously endured the heartbreak of a number of failed World Cup campaigns earlier than lifting the trophy on house soil in 2011, served as a well timed morale increase for India, who finally beat South Africa by 52 runs on the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to win their first-ever Ladies’s ODI World Cup title. “The evening earlier than the match, Sachin (Tendulkar) sir known as. He shared his expertise and requested us to maintain our steadiness. When the sport goes quick, simply gradual it down just a little. Attempt to management it as a result of once you go too quick, likelihood is you possibly can stumble.”
“That is what we have to keep away from. I used to be simply pondering of all the recommendation I used to be getting from the seniors. To maintain management, keep affected person, the second will come and it is possible for you to to know it,” mentioned Harmanpreet on the ICC Overview present on Friday.
As the ultimate wicket of Nadine de Klerk fell within the ultimate, with Harmanpreet by the way taking the catch, a wave of emotion swept throughout the stadium. For Harmanpreet and her teammates, the victory was greater than only a title – it was the end result of a long-standing dream.
“I nonetheless cannot imagine it. Each time we see one another, we’re simply saying, ‘world champion. ‘ It is a very completely different feeling. We had been ready for the time after we would get to really feel this manner. My mom and father had been there.”
“For me, it was a really particular second to elevate the World Cup trophy with them. Since my childhood, they’ve heard me say that I need to put on India’s jersey, play for the nation, lead the workforce, and win the World Cup.”
“To be trustworthy, I am not ready to consider this proper now. Possibly I’ll notice after just a few months what we’ve got achieved. What we’ve got given our nation. I am unable to course of this proper now.”
“I spoke about the identical with Amol (Muzumdar) sir, it looks like we’ve got received some bilateral collection and we’re going again house. The influence of it’s one thing we’ll notice in just a few months. Proper now, it simply looks like a dream,” she elaborated.
India’s epochal triumph was marked by scenes of deep emotion and symbolism because the victorious squad additionally obtained legends Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami to carry the trophy aloft. Each stalwarts, current for the ultimate in commentary roles, had been central figures in India’s near-misses on the 2005 and 2017 World Cup finals.
“The final time, again in 2022, after we returned after the World Cup, all of us had been actually unhappy. We knew that it was the final World Cup for Jhulan di and Mithali di. Smriti and I had been sitting and speaking; we had been unhappy that we could not ship it for them.”
“However we had determined that every time we do it sooner or later, we’ll be sure that they are going to be within the stadium. We actually need to seize that second with them. Not solely them, Diana (Edulji) ma’am was repeatedly messaging.”
“Shubhangi (Kulkarni) ma’am, Sudha (Shah) ma’am, who was our coach after I made my debut. All people was there. To share this second with them was one thing actually particular to us. And every time we had been dreaming and visualizing, they had been really with us. We did not consider this second with out them,” concluded Harmanpreet.