Having made her international debut back in 2009, Harmanpreet Kaur had waited 15 long years before finally laying her hands on an ICC World Cup silverware. On Sunday night in Navi Mumbai, that wait, filled with heartbreaks, near-misses and unfinished stories, came to an end.

The India skipper, featuring in her fifth Women’s World Cup campaign, stood centre-stage at the DY Patil Stadium, overwhelmed and almost unable to process the magnitude of what she had achieved.

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She was one of only five players at this edition to feature in a fifth World Cup, having first worn India colours at the 2009 tournament in Australia, a debut that came in a 10-wicket win against Pakistan. Since then, every campaign has carried hope, and every exit has deepened the hurt.

The painful memory of

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