Eman 
“We Felt We Could Win from the First Ball”: Harmanpreet Kaur on India’s Maiden World Cup Triumph
ZeeaK 
In the euphoria following India’s historic maiden ICC Women’s World Cup victory, Captain Harmanpreet Kaur offered profound insights into the team’s journey, revealing a deeply ingrained culture of resilience and a powerful, final act of self-belief that shattered years of heartbreak. Standing alongside Vice-Captain Smriti Mandhana at the triumphant DY Patil Stadium, Harmanpreet reflected on the past: “We’ve played many World Cups together. Every loss meant going home heartbroken and starting over again.
We were constantly asking ourselves, ‘When will we break this cycle?'”
The Power of Manifestation and Mindset
The victory was forged in quiet determination. Even after losing the toss in the rain-delayed final and being asked to bat in difficult conditions, the captain’s conviction was unwavering.
“We felt we could win from the first ball itself,” Harmanpreet stated.
“Our self-belief fundamentally changed after the league stages. It didn’t matter that we lost the toss; we knew our team was capable. Credit goes to Smriti and [Shafali] Verma for expertly handling the first 10 overs.”
This mental fortitude was a learned trait, honed after a difficult start to the home World Cup campaign. Harmanpreet pinpointed the turning point after a loss to England: a frank conversation where the team was urged to stop repeating past mistakes. This moment spurred a serious commitment to visualization and meditation, tools that helped the squad move past disappointment.
Coach Muzumdar and The Injury Cloud
Harmanpreet gave immense credit to Head Coach Amol Muzumdar, whose “calm stewardship” brought essential stability to the dressing room after years of frequent coaching changes.
She also addressed the emotional challenge of integrating Shafali Verma, who was drafted in as an injury replacement for the consistent Pratika Rawal just before the semi-final. Despite the sadness over Pratika’s injury, the team rallied around Verma.
“We didn’t want [Shafali] to feel she came in under an injury cloud,” Harmanpreet said. “The positive mindset was universal. Nobody thought, ‘Why is this happening to us?’ Everyone supported each other.”
The Long-Awaited Victory
Even as South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt threatened the chase with a century, the captain’s message to her teammates remained simple: “Keep faith. We’ve worked really hard for this. Opportunities will come, and we have to grab them.”
The captain acknowledged the generations of players who paved the way, specifically naming Jhulan Goswami and Anjum Chopra as foundational mentors.
For Harmanpreet and the entire nation, the win signified more than just a trophy. “We had to win one big tournament. Without that, we couldn’t talk about change,” she emphasized. The final moment of victory was perfectly manifest: once the venue shifted from Bengaluru to the familiar DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, the team felt they had come home.
“We were manifesting” . We said, ‘The final is going to be there, we won’t leave it now.’We knew we had to start fresh and not look back at previous World Cups.”
And with the final wicket, the long wait ended, and the new era began.
For more analysis, celebration pictures, and historical context of India’s maiden World Cup triumph, visit the ultimate cricket destination: www.crickethighlights.online
image credits : cricbuzz
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