"Have watched final again and again...": Harmanpreet on India's Women's WC win

Harmanpreet-led India made history as they secured their first-ever Women's World Cup title across both limited-overs formats, beating South Africa by 52 runs in a gripping title clash at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium last Sunday.

Speaking on JioStar's 'Celebrating Champions ', Harmanpreet said, "The World Cup win has not fully sunk in yet. I think we are still processing this incredible achievement. I have watched the final match again and again - more times than I have ever rewatched any of our previous victories. It still feels just as special every time I see it."

Harmanpreet also credited several positive changes in the women's cricketing ecosystem made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) under the previous tenure of Jay Shah as secretary, such as equal match fees and the arrival of Women's Premier League (WPL), a women's equivalent of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Many positive changes have come, especially during this World Cup, and we must credit BCCI and Jay Shah for their outstanding support. Pay parity played a crucial role in changing the landscape. The awareness campaigns motivated parents to encourage their daughters to play cricket, creating healthy competition and bringing more talent into the game. WPL transformed our dressing room mentality completely. Compared to previous World Cups, the atmosphere and mindset were completely different this time, thanks to the solid backing from BCCI and our incredible fans," she said.

Harmanpreet also pointed out that when India's domestic cricket stalwart Amol Muzumdar joined the team as head coach in October 2023, the team had a "proper planning" after struggling with frequent coaching changes.

"We actually planned everything two years ago - writing down each series, tournament schedules, training camps and fitness programs. BCCI supported us completely, telling us to take whatever we needed without pressure. This trophy is not an overnight achievement but the result of two years of hard work by the entire team. Amol sir's systematic approach, where we reviewed our progress every two months, helped us move forward step by step, and that planning is why we are holding the trophy today," she concluded.

In the match, half-centuries from Shafali Verma (87) and Deepti Sharma (58) took India to 298/7 in 50 overs. South Africa were in the hunt with skipper Laura Wolvaardt (101) in sublime touch, but game-changing spells from Shafali (2/36) and Deepti Sharma (5/39) won India their maiden WC title with a 52-run win over the Proteas. (ANI)