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"I don't know how to react to that": Smriti Mandhana after India's World Cup triumph
In a historic moment for Indian cricket, Indian women lifted their maiden Women’s World Cup title with a staggering 52-run victory over South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Backed by superb batting displays from Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma and a strangling bowling attack led by Deepti Sharma, India scripted a memorable triumph. Speaking on the historic win, Indian batter Smriti Mandhana, who played a key role in India's campaign, described the moment as "unreal".
"I don't know how to react to that. Still sinking in. I haven't been emotional on a cricket field, but just a very unreal moment. Home World Cup. Just to read 'Champions – India', I am still not able to process it," Mandhana said after India's World Cup win.
It was a remarkable turnaround for team India after enduring a group exit during last year's T20I World Cup.
"The last T20 World Cup was a difficult one for all of us, but we had a clear focus on trying to work on our fitness, trying to be better at each and every aspect. The super-strength of this team, no one will talk about it, is how everyone just stuck in, played for each other. In a World Cup you need everyone's support, good days and bad days. We enjoyed each other's success. I can't tell you how the team environment is... that's just magic," she said.
Asked to bat, India had a great start with openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma giving the team a flying start, scoring 45 and 87, respectively. Lower in the order, Deepti Sharma slammed a crucial knock of 58 to lift India to 298/7 in 50 overs. Defending the total, India bowled South Africa out for 246 in 45.3 overs despite Laura Wolvaardt playing an eye-catching 101-run knock.
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