NEW DELHI: India opener Smriti Mandhana admitted she was still coming to terms with the enormity of the moment, describing India's maiden Women's World Cup triumph - a 52-run win over South Africa in Navi Mumbai on Sunday - as "unreal."

"I don't know how to react to that, it's still sinking in," Mandhana said moments after the victory.

"I haven't been emotional on the cricket field. But yeah, just a very unreal moment, home World Cup and just to read that we are Champions, I just can't, I'm still not able to process it."

After years of near-misses, India finally ended their long wait for a global title.

Mandhana, who was part of the side that fell short in the 2020 T20 World Cup final, said the team turned those past heartbreaks into fuel for their triumph.

"Every World Cup we go in and there have been so many heartbreaks for all of us," she said.

"But we always believe that we have a bigger responsibility with women's cricket and genuinely just to see the support we've got over the last one and a half month and to see people come in, support us.

"It just... I don't know how do I explain the last 40 days but yeah, I mean to end it with a World Cup win today, I will take that, 45 days of not sleeping every night."

Reflecting on the team's journey since the 2020 disappointment, Mandhana said renewed focus on fitness, skills and unity played a crucial role in India's turnaround.

"The last T20 World Cup for sure was a difficult one for all of us to take. We had a clear focus on trying to work on our fitness, trying to be better at each and every aspect," she said.

"The super strength of this team is no one will talk about it but it's the way everyone just stuck in and just played for each other. In a World Cup like this, you just need everyone's support. Everyone was there for each other, good days, bad days. We enjoyed each other's success.

"I just can't tell you the way the team environment is, and I think that's really magic."

(With PTI Inputs)