'That was the turning point for us...': Harmanpreet Kaur reveals how her gut feeling power India to maiden World Cup 2025 triumph

Emotional India captain Harmanpreet Kaur revealed that listening to her gut feeling and giving bowling to Shafali Verma was the game-changing moment of the Women's ODI World Cup final at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Team India defeated South Africa in the title decider to win their maiden World Cup.

Harmanpreet Kaur on Shafali Verma's performance

Shafali, who joined the squad before the semifinal clash of the tournament, played the innings of her life as she smashed 87 runs and picked up two wickets that helped India to defeat South Africa by 52 runs.

"When Laura and Sune were batting, they were looking really good. I just saw Shafali standing there, and the way she was batting, I knew it was our day. I thought I have to go with my gut feeling. If my heart was saying, I had to give her at least one over. And that was the turning point for us. When she came to the team, we spoke to her that we might need 2-3 overs, and she said if you give me bowling, I will bowl ten overs" said Harmanpreet Kaur in post match presentation.

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Hamanpreet Kaur for Fans

Harmanpreet also lauded the fans for their support throughout the tournament during the team's ups and downs.

"I am so grateful for this crowd; they have been really amazing. Thank you for being with us in all our ups and downs. Last game, we also spoke about self-belief was there, even though we lost three back-to-back games," Harmanpreet added.

Harmanpreet Kaur thanked Amol Muzumdar

Harmanpreet Kaur also lauded the head coach, Amol Muzumdar, who joined the Women's side two years back, for his advice and support. She revealed that Amol always told them to come up with something special.

"At the right time, Deepti came in and took those wickets. Every time, after every World Cup, we were always discussing crossing that line. In the last two years, Amol sir was with the team, and he was always telling us to come up with something special and to keep preparing for the big occasion" Harmanpreet also added.

"We should give credit to the support staff and the BCCI. We did not make too many changes (to our squad), and they really invested in us, and because of everyone, we are standing here. This is the start. We wanted to break this barrier. And our next plan is to make this a habit. We were waiting for it. now this moment has come. So many big occasions are coming, and we want to keep improving. This is not the end, just the beginning" Harmanpreet also said.