It was a fitting end to a historic night. With victory within reach, Deepti Sharma delivered a low full toss just outside off. South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk backed away, attempting to carve the ball inside-out, but only managed to slice it high towards extra cover.
Harmanpreet turned and ran back, tracking the ball over her shoulder before completing the catch that brought the curtain down on the final and confirmed India’s long-awaited triumph.
The moment inevitably drew parallels with 1983 Cricket World Cup Final, another watershed victory that reshaped the sport in the country. For a team that had reached finals and semifinals before but fallen agonisingly short, this was the breakthrough it had chased for years.
“We have been talking about this for many years. We have been playing good cricket, but we had to win one big tournament. Without that, we couldn’t talk about change,” Harmanpreet had said at the time.
“We were waiting badly for this moment, and today we got a chance to live it. I don’t know how to express it, but I’m so happy and so proud of this team.”
When the catch was taken, Harmanpreet sprinted across the field, embracing her teammates as the magnitude of the achievement sank in.
The 2026 Sportstar Aces Awards are presented by Amul, co-presented by Casagrand in association with SRM Institute of Science and Technology. SBI, Christ University, Next IAS, Bharat Petroleum, LIC, Sports Authority of Telangana, NTPC, Indian Softball Cricket Foundation, Jaquar And Company Private Limited are associate partners. Reva University is the education partner. Blue Star is the cooling partner while Times Now is the telecast partner.
Published on Mar 16, 2026
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