Dhaka, Nov. 3 -- India Women's Cricket skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's long wait finally ended on Sunday night when the country lifted its first-ever ICC Cricket World Cup, defeating South Africa by 52 runs in front of a raucous crowd in Navi Mumbai.

For the 36-year-old captain, who had endured four previous World Cups without success, the moment was both surreal and overwhelming.

"I'm numb, I'm not able to understand," Harmanpreet said after the win, ICC reported. "There were ups and downs, but the team always had self-belief. We weren't looking to the left or right, only at our end goal."

It was the culmination of a 16-year journey for Harmanpreet, who made her World Cup debut in 2009 as a teenager under Jhulan Goswami's leadership.

Sinc...