India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Saturday said her team has endured the pain of losing on several occasions in the past but is now ready to experience the joy of winning a global title, ahead of their Women’s World Cup final against South Africa here.
India and South Africa will face off in the summit clash here at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, with women’s World Cup set to have a new champion alongside former winners Australia, England and New Zealand.
“We know how it feels to lose. But we are looking forward to how it feels to win. Hopefully tomorrow is a special day for us, we have done a lot of hard work, and it's only about getting everything (done) tomorrow for the team,” Harmanpreet told reporters on the eve of the final.
“We have been talking about that whenever we have enjoyed and given our best, we always get positive results.
“It's a proud moment for me and the entire team, and I'm sure the entire country must be also very proud the way we have played the last two games,” she said.
India will be making their third appearance in a Women’s ODI World Cup final. They had lost to Australia by 98 runs in the 1998 title clash and went down fighting to England by nine runs in the 2017 final. India had also lost the Commonwealth Games gold medal match to Australia in 2022.
“When you are at a stage like a World Cup final, there cannot be any bigger motivation. The team is charged up, players are supporting each other and that shows they are together and how ready we are for this match. We knew long before that the World Cup was in India, and now it is about giving 100 per cent,” Harman replied when asked about motivating her side.
Harmanpreet welcomed the fact that there will be a new ODI world champion on Sunday night.
“It’s good that there are two different teams. We have seen Australia dominating world cricket for so many years and England was also on that stage. The excitement is different,” she said.
The Indian captain asserted that the focus of her team was always on reaching the final and despite three consecutive losses to Australia, South Africa and England in the league stage, they did not feel any need for a “shake up”.
"We didn't shake up even once in the team because even though we lost three big losses, even after that everyone was together and we were all saying that we still have a great opportunity to reach to the finals,” she said.
“That was a positive mindset that helped us to reach to the finals when your team has such a positive mindset and everyone wants to play, to do good for the country and win the World Cup.” “We were definitely talking about what we wanted to improve, but at the same time, we were all looking at the same goal. This (reaching the final) is a long process, there are ups and downs. Some teams win, some lose. But at the end of the day, it's about how we reach the end,” she said.
Harmanpreet said it is time for her side to go over the finish line.
“We have prepared ourselves in the last two years to put ourselves in every condition. If such a situation comes up, what can we do? We have tried our best. Now it's only about everything coming together and helping the team to pass that line,” she said.
Harmanpreet also hailed South Africa’s journey to their maiden ODI World Cup final.
“No doubt they have played very well (good) cricket even though their start was not that good. The way they came back to this tournament, I think that's outstanding to watch. I think it's a very balanced side,” she said.
“We know that they have good bowling attack and at the same time there is a lot of depth in batting,” Harmanpreet added.
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