Before the Women's World Cup final against South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, India women's team coach Amol Muzumdar looked back to the time of Shah Rukh Khan's 'Chak De! India's moment and gave a passionate speech. Similar to the scene of Kabir Khan's speech in the 2007 movie, when the imaginary hockey coach told his players to put all their energy for '70 minutes', Muzumdar advised his team to ignore the noise and create history of their own.
“Seven Hours to Create Our Own Story,” says Amol Muzumdar
Before India scripted a glorious 52-run win to lift their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title, Muzumdar gathered his team in a huddle and gave a passionate speech that echoed both intensity and belief. “Seven hours we cut out all the noise. We cut them out of our lives; we create our own bubble here. Seven hours—create our own bubble—and we step into it, and we finish that, and we write our own story. No more stories from the outside. We write our own story. You will write your own story. Let’s stay in that bubble for the next seven hours. Let’s create history,” Muzumdar said in a video shared by the ICC on Instagram, as quoted by ANI.
And history, indeed, was created. India posted a formidable 298/7 on the board, powered by Shafali Verma’s explosive 87 off 78 balls and Deepti Sharma’s composed 58 off 58. In response, South Africa faltered at 246 in 45.3 overs despite captain Laura Wolvaardt’s spirited 101.
For Muzumdar, who watched from the dugout, the moment was deeply emotional. “Absolutely proud. It hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s an unbelievable achievement, and they deserve every bit of credit. They have worked terribly hard and made every Indian proud,” he said after the victory.
Reflecting on India’s journey through the tournament, Muzumdar added, “We did not look at those losses as losses—we looked at them as games we couldn’t close. We dominated most of them but just had hiccups. We stayed alive in the tournament, and here we are, as world champions. They’ve worked incredibly hard for this, and it’s a watershed moment for Indian cricket.”
