Skipper Harmanpreet underscores role of "positive mindset" that "helped" India reach Women's World Cup final

Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 1 (ANI): India captain Harmanpreet Kaur affirms her side is "mentally and physically preparing" to face "balanced" South Africa in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday after being outgunned by them during the group-stage encounter.

While reflecting on India's hard-fought journey to the final, Harmanpreet outlined the importance of a "positive mindset" that kept their hopes of lifting their maiden World Cup trophy alive.

India and South Africa scuffled in Visakhapatnam, and the Harmanpreet-led side fell to a narrow three-wicket defeat courtesy of Nadine de Klerk's 54-ball 84 unbeaten batting masterclass to hunt the 252-run target. The victory was a statement by the South African team, declaring their intentions after kicking off their campaign with a shambolic defeat against England.

In 20.4 overs, South Africa crumbled to 69 after a harrowing batting display at Guwahati's Barsapara Cricket Stadium. In response, England gunned down the paltry total in 14.1 overs. Under the captaincy of Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa stormed into the semi-final to face England yet again in Guwahati.

Wolvaardt led from the front and engineered a record-breaking 169(143) while Marizanne Kapp scalped figures of 5/20 to steer South Africa to a thumping 125-run victory. For Harmanpreet, it was "outstanding" to witness South Africa's journey, and she feels an "interesting" battle lies ahead for them.

"No doubt they played very well, even though their start was not that good. Even after that, the way they came back to this tournament is outstanding to watch. I think it's a very balanced side. We know that they have a good bowling attack, and at the same time, there is a lot of depth in batting. But our team has also got a lot of positives. I think tomorrow's match is going to be very interesting. We are mentally and physically preparing ourselves for that level, and hopefully, we will enjoy ourselves tomorrow," Harmanpreet told reporters in the pre-match press conference.

India's campaign was nothing short of a roller coaster ride, filled with ups and downs. With two consecutive wins, India emerged as a major contender for the coveted title. However, India's high-flying campaign went off the tracks with three consecutive defeats against South Africa, Australia, and England.

With the last semi-final spot at stake, India returned to winning ways in style with an emphatic 53-run win (DLS method) over New Zealand to book their berth in the final four. India trounced Australia to ensure a new winner emerged in the final. During the turbulent phase, Harmanpreet revealed that keeping a "positive mindset" was instrumental in reaching the final.

"I think we didn't shake up even once in the team because even though we lost three big losses, even after that, everyone was together, and we were all saying that we still have a great opportunity to reach the finals. So I think that was a positive mindset that helped us reach the finals. When your team has such a positive mindset and everyone wants to play, to do good for the country and win the World Cup, I think we were definitely talking about what we wanted to improve, but at the same time, we were all looking at the same goal," Harmanpreet said.

"This is a long process; there are ups and downs. Some teams win, some lose. But at the end of the day, it's about how we reach the end. We were talking about this journey, what we have to do after this defeat. We have to improve ourselves, and along with that, we have to stay together and help each other. I think that really shows how positive characters are in the team, and everyone helped each other," she added.

India has stormed into the finals of the Women's World Cup in 2015 and 2017 but returned empty-handed on both occasions. Meanwhile, South Africa will feature in their first World Cup final and hope to return home with the silverware. (ANI)

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