The Indian women’s team scripted history on Sunday (November 2) after beating South Africa by 52 runs in the final to clinch their maiden ODI World Cup trophy at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Asked to bat first, the Women in Blue posted 298/7 on the board, powered by Shafali Verma’s 87, Deepti Sharma’s 58, and vital contributions from Smriti Mandhana (45) and Richa Ghosh (34).

During the chase, South Africa fought hard on the back of skipper Laura Wolvaardt’s superb 101, but a sensational spell from Deepti (5/39) helped India bowl out the opposition for 246 in 45.3 overs.

The triumphant campaign ended in the most poetic way possible for India. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was stationed at cover when Nadine de Klerk, South Africa's last recognised batter, played an uppish cover drive, attempting to clear the fielder inside the ring. However, Harmanpreet timed her leap to perfection and plucked the ball out of thin air to seal the deal.

The World Cup glory marked the beginning of a new era for women’s cricket in India, and it was aptly described by former opener Aakash Chopra on-air.

Aakash’s words in that moment resonated with fans as he said, “Saare jahan se achcha Hindustan hamara. Naya vijeta mila hai iss vishwa ko aur woh vijeta hai Bharat. Bharat ke paschim mai, raat ke andhere mai, ek naye surya ka hua hai uday aur surya ki chamak se chaka chondh ho jaayega poora vishwa. Yeh jeet sirf inn ladkiyon ki nahi hai, yeh jeet kayi dashkon ki, kayi barson ki tapassiya ki hai, mehnat ki hai, musakkat ki hai, unn sapno ki hai. Yeh jeet har uss ladki hai jisko sapne lene se roka gaya tha, aage jaane se toka gaya tha. Yeh jeet Diana Edulji ki hai, yeh jeet Jhulan Goswami ki hai, yeh jeet Mithali Raj, yeh jeet Anjum ki hai.”

“Harmanpreet Kaur ki ladkiyon ne ek naye daur ka kiya hai aagaz. India are the world champions. 25 saal ke baad mila hai ek naya vijeta aur who vijeta hai Hindustan. Humse behtar koi nahi hai, yeh ek baar phir dikhaya hai. Yeh ghadi hamari hai yeh sadi hamari hai. Mumbai sapno ki nagri haina, woh jo sapna buna tha, ek-ek karke chuna tha… let’s do it for Harman didi, woh karke dikhaya Bharatiya ladkiyon ne,” he added.

In an exclusive chat with Circle of Cricket, Aakash Chopra detailed how he practiced and worked hard to come up with epic lines for the final moments.

“I prepared really well actually, quite a bit for this moment. Honestly, I had started preparing 2-3 days earlier. I was very confident about India’s win but then there was a pressure that if and when India wins, and you are holding the mic, which I knew that I will have it. So, I have to do justice and honestly speaking it’s a very different kind of pressure because you should know what you need to speak and then there’s preparation for that,” Chopra said.

“Yeh maine likha ki kya bolunga jo justice karega uss moment se aur uss moment ko because it was the first time (Indian) women winning. I mean this is historic, but you also have to capture the struggle of a number of years and who are the names involved and how do you acknowledge everyone and do justice to it. So, I had multiple options, I will not lie. Maine kaafi cheezen likh thi, unme se I chose this and then I practised, practised a lot from while having taking a shower to walking around in the house. I practiced that if it happens, then mujhe kya bolna hai,” he added.

“Touchwood, I guess it came out right. It captured the emotions, people love it. Ek hoti hai ki mujhe lag rha hai theek hai to aap apni taraf se kuch bhi kar sakte ho, kitna bhi badhya soch sakte ho, bol sakte ho but if doesn’t resonate with people, it doesn’t capture their emotions then it is useless,” he continued.

The former cricketer-turned-commentator also explained the pressure a commentator faces while calling such iconic moments.

“Ek pressure hota hai hamesha commentator ke upar, especially for these kinds of situations where it’s a huge moment. Now, if you just stay quiet, see the moment, it’s still beautiful. So, if you are opening your mouth then you have to make it even grander and capture the emotion. If you don’t then you are actually letting everyone down and you are ruining the moment. I mean either you can make it better, which is already tough because the moment is huge and making it better is a tough job. It may sound different but it’s not trivial. Buy yes, if you don’t do justice then you will ruin the moment. It will not be as magical. At least, you have not added anything to it, you have taken away from it.

"There was a pressure but I think preparation came in handy, experience came in handy. I have been doing it for a lot of years. I have called many many finals, I have called World Cup final as well. Not once, many times. But India jeetne vala World Cup final maine kabhi call nhi kiya. So, there was a lot of pressure and this is what you live for in a commentary career ki ek aisa moment aayega and you get the opportunity to speak and if you can do justice, I mean this is highest of highs,” Chopra remarked.