When Harmanpreet Kaur’s phone rang just the night before the ICC Women’s World Cup final, she had no idea it was the God of Cricket.
It was Sachin Tendulkar himself who called. He shared old memories and told the team something that came in handy during the match.
Harmanpreet revealed this in an ICC review. India made history by defeating South Africa, and this call changed everything.
What were Sachin’s golden tips?
Harmanpreet said, “The night before the match, Sachin called. He shared his experience and asked us to keep our balance. When the game is going fast, just slow it down a little. Try and control it because when you go too fast, there are chances you might stumble. That’s what we need to avoid.”
Meaning, when the game gets fast, take a break and control yourself, otherwise you might fall. The team followed this advice and performed brilliantly in the final.
This match, held in Navi Mumbai, plunged the entire country into celebration. Harmanpreet is still smiling at the thought of this victory.
Harmanpreet says, “Whenever we are seeing each other, we are just saying, ‘world champion.’ It’s a very different feeling.”
Her parents were also at the stadium. Since childhood, Harmanpreet has been saying that she would play for India, captain it, and win the World Cup.
Now that dream has come true. She stands alongside Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni, the only three Indian captains to have lifted the senior ODI World Cup. And she is the first woman. But she still can’t believe it.
She said, “To be honest, I can’t process this right now. Maybe after a few months, I’ll realize what we’ve given our country. It still feels like we’ve just won a bilateral series and are heading home.”
Star Players’ Powerful Role
Harmanpreet praised her team, especially Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, and Shafali Verma. Shefali knows how to handle pressure.
Harmanpreet said, “Shafali was familiar with the pressure and the stage. When that partnership was building, we gave her an over and she got us two back-to-back wickets.”
Speaking of Smriti, she said, “Her contribution will always be remembered. Whenever she bats, we all pray she gets a century because when she gets runs, everything else just falls into place.”
And Deepti was the best performer of the tournament.
Harmanpreet said, “All she needed was a push. Somewhere we all felt she was holding herself back. Now she believes and that belief has changed everything.”
This victory took women’s cricket to new heights. Now Indian girls are inspiring players around the world.
