On November 19, 2023, in Ahmedabad, then skipper Rohit Sharma led a team with all bases covered. But Pat Cummins and his team played party-spoilers as Australia comfortably won the final to secure the men’s ODI World Cup crown.
Will Harmanpreet Kaur and her troops be able to script a different tale on Sunday? Will they be able to trump South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium to earn the country its maiden World Cup crown in women’s cricket? The captain thinks they can.
Enjoy the moment and set small targets, that’s what she has been telling her team, going into what appears to be the most important game of her career.
“As far as a home World Cup is concerned, there are always ups and downs emotionally because it’s a tough situation. At the same time, we are having those sessions where we talk about how we can be more focused and more balanced and at the same time keeping ourselves relaxed, because this is the biggest stage and biggest opportunity for us… Playing at home and that too, the World Cup final.
“However, the most important thing is enjoying the occasion because there is nothing bigger than this in our lives... as a cricketer and as a captain. So, our focus is to enjoy this moment and set small targets which we have to achieve as a team. We just need to keep those in mind and move ahead,” Harmanpreet said on Saturday, the eve of India Women’s third ODI World Cup final appearance.
Given the ambience in and around the DY Patil Stadium, India Women not winning on Sunday could go on to be as big an anti-climax as Rohit and Co.’s loss to Australia in Ahmedabad two years ago. “They (India) are a good team. They should win,” Brijesh Patel, former India middle-order batsman and ex-chairman of the IPL governing council, who arrived at the venue in the evening along with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, told The Telegraph.
Like Australia, South Africa too had beaten India in the group stage of this World Cup. In fact, India had lost in the group stage to all the three other semi-finalists. But in spite of those reversals, the positive mindset of the team never faded, Harmanpreet emphasised.
“I don’t think we panicked after those three losses (to Australia, South Africa and England) in the group phase. Everyone was together even after those games and we were all saying that we still had a good opportunity to reach the final.
“So, that was a positive mindset, which helped us to go the distance. When your team has such a positive mindset and everyone wants to play and perform for the country and win the World Cup, reaching the goal gets easier.”
