India captain Harmanpreet Kaur had gotten very emotional following the side's five-wicket victory over Australia in the semi-final of the Women's World Cup. The 36-year-old had played a highly important inning of 89 and had played a key role in the Women in Blue's victory that saw them reach the final of the mega-tournament for the third time in their history.
Harmanpreet highlights how important the win over AUS was
Ahead of the final against South Africa, Harmanpreet revealed that she is quite an emotional person and cries often. She labelled the victory over Australia as "special" and highlighted how important it was for the team to win the high-voltage encounter.
"I am an emotional person. I cry a lot. It is not like I cry only when I lose. Teammates have seen me how much I cry. As a player, these moments are important. To beat Australia and to be mentally strong is not easy. To scale this hurdle is special. I tell my teammates, you need not control your emotions. If you want to cry, cry. We will still enjoy the tournament," Harmanpreet said in the pre-match press-conference.
Harmanpreet further acknowledged the pressure of being in the final of such an important tournament and pointed out that the atmosphere can be very emotionally demanding for the players. She also stated that the team is focusing on staying concentrated solely on their performance in the match.
“As for the home World Cup, there are always emotional ups and downs because it’s tough. But at the same time, we’ve been talking about how tomorrow’s match is the most important one. Keeping ourselves balanced and focused is the key. We’ve been having sessions on how to stay focused and balanced while also keeping ourselves relaxed, because this is the biggest stage and the biggest opportunity for us — playing at home, and that too in a final,” Harmanpreet stated.
India's dismal record in WC finals
Meanwhile, this will be India's third final in the Women's World Cup. They previously reached the penultimate game of the mega-tournament in 2005 and 2017, only to end up losing to Australia and England respectively. They will be hoping to put their forgettable record in World Cup finals to rest by emerging victorious against South Africa in Navi Mumbai.