<p>Navi Mumbai: Harmanpreet Kaur has led India to the final in her first Women’s World Cup as a captain. But, this will be her second taste of entering the final, having been a runner-up to hosts England in 2017.</p><p>Using that experience and also learning from defeats in this edition, Kaur is confident of her team putting up a better show and winning their first World Cup title.</p><p>“I don't think there can be a better motivation than this. The team is fully charged up. We have been preparing for this for a long time. It's only about giving your hundred per cent and being there for the team,” Kaur said on Saturday.</p><p>“We know how it feels after losing. But what you feel after winning is something we are really looking forward to. Hopefully, Sunday will be a special day for us.”</p><p>With the expectations of winning the final coming from all corners, Kaur has been telling her team to just “enjoy” the moment of reaching the final.</p><p>“This is the biggest stage, the biggest opportunity for us playing in home conditions. The most important thing is that we have to enjoy this as this is the biggest thing in my life as a cricketer and as a captain,” said Kaur, who has scored two fifties in seven innings this World Cup.</p><p>Kaur is well aware of what South Africa are capable of. Though the honours are shared evenly in the six head-to-head matches between the two in World Cups, the Proteas have won all of the recent three matches, in 2017, 2022 and the league match of 2025. Kaur said: “They’ve played really well. Even though they didn't have a good start, the way they came back into this tournament is outstanding to watch. There is a lot of balance. We know that they have a good bowling attack. At the same time, they have a lot of depth in their batting. But, there are a lot of positives in our team as well. The final is going to be very interesting. We are mentally and physically prepared. Hopefully, we will enjoy it as well.</p>.ICC Women's World Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur's India eye maiden title against determined Proteas in final.<p>“We need to keep achieving small targets as a team rather than thinking of bigger targets. You are going to achieve a bigger target if you meet the smaller targets. We’ll focus on smaller things and move ahead.”</p><p>Kaur’s South African counterpart Laura Wolvaardt said the pressure was on India to win the World Cup. “The whole crowd will be behind India, probably the entire stadium. It's going to be a very exciting opportunity. At the same time, it puts a lot of pressure on them as well. They have the whole country behind them and expect to win. It plays in our favour, hopefully. We are very excited for the game. We have to play some really good cricket to beat them.”</p><p>Wolvaardt is the tournament’s highest scorer, 470 in eight innings with 169 in the semifinal against England being her best. Besides, she has four half-centuries including 70 in her team’s successful chase against India. But, she is not one to look back at the past.</p><p>Wolvaardt said: “Knockout cricket is completely different to league cricket. People are able to do some very special things in knockout games, like we saw from Jemi (Rodrigues) the other night.</p><p>“I don't think we are going to be looking into our group game against them. We know we have to play some really good cricket. They are a really strong side and we have just come off of a really good game as well. We are trying not to think too much about the past at all. Every cricket game starts at zero. We can't bring any of our history into this game. Whether it be finals (T20 World Cup) that we have lost or games that we have won against India. We are just really trying to erase all of that stuff and start completely afresh in this game. There is a lot of pressure on both the teams to perform. Whoever stays the calmest under that pressure is going to most likely come out on top.”</p>
<p>Navi Mumbai: Harmanpreet Kaur has led India to the final in her first Women’s World Cup as a captain. But, this will be her second taste of entering the final, having been a runner-up to hosts England in 2017.</p><p>Using that experience and also learning from defeats in this edition, Kaur is confident of her team putting up a better show and winning their first World Cup title.</p><p>“I don't think there can be a better motivation than this. The team is fully charged up. We have been preparing for this for a long time. It's only about giving your hundred per cent and being there for the team,” Kaur said on Saturday.</p><p>“We know how it feels after losing. But what you feel after winning is something we are really looking forward to. Hopefully, Sunday will be a special day for us.”</p><p>With the expectations of winning the final coming from all corners, Kaur has been telling her team to just “enjoy” the moment of reaching the final.</p><p>“This is the biggest stage, the biggest opportunity for us playing in home conditions. The most important thing is that we have to enjoy this as this is the biggest thing in my life as a cricketer and as a captain,” said Kaur, who has scored two fifties in seven innings this World Cup.</p><p>Kaur is well aware of what South Africa are capable of. Though the honours are shared evenly in the six head-to-head matches between the two in World Cups, the Proteas have won all of the recent three matches, in 2017, 2022 and the league match of 2025. Kaur said: “They’ve played really well. Even though they didn't have a good start, the way they came back into this tournament is outstanding to watch. There is a lot of balance. We know that they have a good bowling attack. At the same time, they have a lot of depth in their batting. But, there are a lot of positives in our team as well. The final is going to be very interesting. We are mentally and physically prepared. Hopefully, we will enjoy it as well.</p>.ICC Women's World Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur's India eye maiden title against determined Proteas in final.<p>“We need to keep achieving small targets as a team rather than thinking of bigger targets. You are going to achieve a bigger target if you meet the smaller targets. We’ll focus on smaller things and move ahead.”</p><p>Kaur’s South African counterpart Laura Wolvaardt said the pressure was on India to win the World Cup. “The whole crowd will be behind India, probably the entire stadium. It's going to be a very exciting opportunity. At the same time, it puts a lot of pressure on them as well. They have the whole country behind them and expect to win. It plays in our favour, hopefully. We are very excited for the game. We have to play some really good cricket to beat them.”</p><p>Wolvaardt is the tournament’s highest scorer, 470 in eight innings with 169 in the semifinal against England being her best. Besides, she has four half-centuries including 70 in her team’s successful chase against India. But, she is not one to look back at the past.</p><p>Wolvaardt said: “Knockout cricket is completely different to league cricket. People are able to do some very special things in knockout games, like we saw from Jemi (Rodrigues) the other night.</p><p>“I don't think we are going to be looking into our group game against them. We know we have to play some really good cricket. They are a really strong side and we have just come off of a really good game as well. We are trying not to think too much about the past at all. Every cricket game starts at zero. We can't bring any of our history into this game. Whether it be finals (T20 World Cup) that we have lost or games that we have won against India. We are just really trying to erase all of that stuff and start completely afresh in this game. There is a lot of pressure on both the teams to perform. Whoever stays the calmest under that pressure is going to most likely come out on top.”</p>