Mandhana joins Kaur, gets World Cup trophy inked on forearm

New Delhi, Nov 5 (IANS) India's vice-captain Smriti Mandhana got a tattoo of the World Cup trophy on her forearm, with '2025' inked just below it, denoting the year of the team’s historic victory.

Team India defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the final of the ODI World Cup on Sunday night to win their maiden ICC trophy and to be crowned the new World Champions.

Smriti joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, as the Indian skipper also got a tattoo of the trophy on her arm. She also has ‘52’ and ‘2025’ inked around it, with the former denoting the margin of victory.

She shared a picture of the same on her Instagram handle and captioned it, writing, “Forever etched in my skin and my heart. Waited for you since Day 1 and now I will see you every morning and be grateful.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of the team’s travel journey, from Mumbai to New Delhi, as the Women in Blue, along with their coaching staff, are set to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening. Mandhana was seen flaunting her tattoo in the video with a broad smile on her face.

The Board also shared videos of the senior cricketers speaking of their dream-come-true moment after they lifted the World Cup trophy. Mandhana, sharing her emotions, said, "We suffered many heartbreaks. Every heartbreak left a little mark in your heart. But there was only motivation to get better and try and have 'Champions' written on your shirt. You play cricket for winning the World Cup. You dream about it as a kid. To do it in front of 50,000 people, I'm just proud of the team."

Meanwhile, Kaur stated, “I was dreaming, when will I wear this blue jersey? So I think this means a lot to me, a young girl who didn’t know about women’s cricket, but still dreaming that one day, I want to bring that change in our country. And I think it all shows that you should never stop dreaming.

"You never know where your destiny will take you. You never think, when will it happen, how will it happen. You only think, this will happen. So, I think, that was my self-belief, that this can be possible. And that exactly happened."

--IANS

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