New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) India captain Harmanpreet Kaur revealed that batting legend Sachin Tendulkar reached out to the team a day before playing the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup final, adding that he offered words of encouragement and shared his own experiences from playing at the grand stage.

The call from Tendulkar, who famously endured the heartbreak of multiple failed World Cup campaigns before lifting the trophy on home soil in 2011, served as a timely morale boost for India, who eventually beat South Africa by 52 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to win their first-ever Women’s ODI World Cup title. “The night before the match, Sachin (Tendulkar) sir 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 to control it because when you go too fast, chances are you can stumble.”

“That’s what we need to avoid. I was just thinking of all the advice I was getting from the seniors. To keep control, stay patient, the moment will come and you will be able to grasp it,” said Harmanpreet on the ICC Review show on Friday.

As the final wicket of Nadine de Klerk fell in the final, with Harmanpreet incidentally taking the catch, a wave of emotion swept across the stadium. For Harmanpreet and her teammates, the victory was more than just a title – it was the culmination of a long-standing dream.

“I still can’t believe it. Whenever we see each other, we’re just saying, ‘world champion. ’ It’s a very different feeling. We were waiting for the time when we would get to feel this way. My mother and father were there.”

“For me, it was a very special moment to lift the World Cup trophy with them. Since my childhood, they have heard me say that I want to wear India’s jersey, play for the country, lead the team, and win the World Cup.”

“To be honest, I’m not able to think about this right now. Maybe I will realise after a few months what we have achieved. What we have given our country. I can’t process this right now.”

“I spoke about the same with Amol (Muzumdar) sir, it feels like we have won some bilateral series and we’re going back home. The impact of it is something we’ll realise in a few months. Right now, it just feels like a dream,” she elaborated.

India’s epochal triumph was marked by scenes of deep emotion and symbolism as the victorious squad also got legends Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami to hold the trophy aloft. Both stalwarts, present for the final in commentary roles, had been central figures in India’s near-misses at the 2005 and 2017 World Cup finals.

“The last time, back in 2022, when we returned after the World Cup, all of us were really sad. We knew that it was the last World Cup for Jhulan di and Mithali di. Smriti and I were sitting and talking; we were sad that we couldn’t deliver it for them.”

“But we had decided that whenever we do it in the future, we will make sure that they will be in the stadium. We really want to capture that moment with them. Not only them, Diana (Edulji) ma’am was continuously messaging.”

“Shubhangi (Kulkarni) ma’am, Sudha (Shah) ma’am, who was our coach when I made my debut. Everybody was there. To share this moment with them was something really special to us. And whenever we were dreaming and visualising, they were actually with us. We didn’t think of this moment without them,” concluded Harmanpreet.

–IANS

nr/bsk/