'For every Nov 19, there's Nov 2': Harmanpreet's India healed a nation's heartbreak with their World Cup triumph

The Times Of India

newspoint|03-11-2025

NEW DELHI: As the adage goes, “Every dark night follows a new bright sunrise.” On Sunday, India witnessed that very sunrise — one that erased the haunting memories of November 19, 2023. Two years after the men's team's crushing defeat to Australia in the ODI World Cup final at Ahmedabad, the Indian women's team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur , scripted a historic redemption story, lifting their maiden ICC Women's World Cup trophy in Navi Mumbai.

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The emotional contrast between those two Novembers couldn't have been starker. The visuals of a teary-eyed Rohit Sharma and a gutted Virat Kohli in 2023 were forever etched into India's collective sporting memory. But on November 2, 2025, the sight of Harmanpreet's elated leap and her team's joyous embrace at DY Patil Stadium became the healing balm for those old wounds.

Capturing that sentiment perfectly, IPL franchise Delhi Capitals posted a poignant montage blending the heartbreak of 2023 with the jubilation of 2025, captioned simply: “For every Nov 19, there's Nov 2.” The video went viral, echoing across a billion hearts that had waited too long for redemption.
India's women delivered a performance worthy of that emotion — posting 298 for 7, powered by Shafali Verma's sparkling 87 and Deepti Sharma 's all-round brilliance (55 and 5/39), before bowling out South Africa for 246 to clinch a 52-run victory.

As AR Rahman's “Vande Mataram” filled the night air, Harmanpreet sealed the moment by catching Nadine de Klerk — and commentator Ian Bishop's words, “inspiring generations,” perfectly captured the occasion's poetry.

For Rohit Sharma, watching from the stands, the win must have carried extra meaning. For Harmanpreet, who herself felt the sting of losing a World Cup final eight years ago, it was redemption of the sweetest kind.

If June 25, 1983 marked the birth of India's cricketing dreams, November 2, 2025 may well mark the rise of a new era — one led by eleven fearless women whose triumph will inspire generations of girls to dream with bat and ball.
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