Women’s World Cup 2025 final: Alex Hartley says India can dominate for years to come

Hartley’s expectations and confidence in India’s prosperity were echoed by the India players themselves, feeling the magnitude of their win and what the future could hold for them.

“This means a lot, we have made history,” said 25-year-old Amanjot Kaur.

“But this is just the beginning. We will dominate the world in every format and I’m glad we were able to do it when it mattered most.”

While Amanjot is among a host of exciting emerging talent, for Harmanpreet, Deepti and Smriti Mandhana – the three players who featured in India’s last 50-over World Cup final, the agonizing nine-run defeat to England at Lord’s in 2017 – this was a crowning moment.

Mandanna was the poster girl for the lead, with her face appearing on billboards and TV commercials everywhere, while Deepti was the most consistent actress with Harmanpreet as the star lead.

It is her fifth and final World Cup, and for a player usually so nervous on the pitch, she let the emotion take over with tears, smiles and dance moves as she was surrounded by her teammates to lift the long-awaited trophy.

“Every time, after all the World Cup finals we attended as a team, we would discuss what we needed to do,” Harmanpreet, 36, said.

“Our expectations were that they needed something special, and BCCI has already invested in us, and that is why we are standing here.

“This is the beginning, and we wanted to break this barrier, and the next plan is to make this our habit. We have many big occasions coming up, and this is not the end, this is just the beginning.”