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History beckons the Indian Women's Team at the Home of Cricket: a chance to claim glory, but more importantly, stamp their once obscure identity all over the cricketing world, dominated by their more popular male counterparts.
Only a handful of ardent fans could identify most of the members of the Mithali Raj led Indian team before the World Cup started. By sheer weight of their performances and the volume of their achievements, the Smritis and the Harmanpreets have made themselves a piece of history, as well as household names all over the country.
15 years ago, Sourav Ganguly and his troops clinched a win at the same venue, a victory that would go a long way in shaping Indian cricket's future. The NatWest win of 2002 made the team believe in themselves, injecting a wave of confidence that helped them become world beaters as the decade progressed.
A win against England in the World Cup final could act as a similar catalyst for Mithali's team.
The Indian captain seemed unflustered amidst all the pressure, sharing a laugh with Harmanpreet Kaur, the hero of India's win against Australia, during a net-session a day before the clash.
While Kaur's shoulder injury must have given Indian Eves fans a reason to worry, the captain believes that the swashbuckling batter will be fit and raring to go on the eve of the marquee clash.
Before the final, several cricketers showed their support for the team on Twitter, backing Mithali & Co. to accomplish what Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni previously managed for the nation.
Virender Sehwag, as always, was one of the first ones to send out his wishes:
Virat Kohli
Sanjay Manjrekar
Aakash Chopra
Ishant Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan
Rahul Johri
The BCCI wished the Indian eves with a video compilation
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