Harmanpreet Kaur, India captain

I am so grateful for this crowd, they have been really amazing. Thank you for being with us in all our ups and downs. Last game also, we spoke that self-belief was there, even though we lost three back-to-back games. we knew we had something special to turn things around. They stayed positive, we knew what we had to do, everyone was so involved, they were there day and night and this team deserves to be there.

When Laura and Sune were batting, they were looking really good. I just saw Shafali standing there, and the way she was batting, I knew it was our day. I thought I have to go with my gut feeling. If my heart was saying, I had to give her at least one over. And that was the turning point for us. When she came to the team, we spoke to her that we might need 2-3 overs, and she said if you give me bowling, I will bowl ten overs. Credit goes to her, she was so positive and she was there for the team. Salute her.

Today's pitch was totally different. We knew this total is enough for a final because you always have a little extra pressure. We should give credit to South Africa, they batted beautifully. In the end, they panicked a little and that is where we cashed. At the right time, Deepti came in and took those wickets.

Every time, after every World Cup, we were always discussing to cross that line. In the last two years, Amol sir was with the team and he was always telling us to come up with something special, and to keep preparing for the big occasion. We should give credit to the support staff and the BCCI. We did not make too many changes, and they really invested in us, and because of everyone, we are standing here. This is the start. We wanted to break this barrier. And our next plan is to make this a habit. We were waiting for it. now this moment has come. So many big occasions are coming, and we want to keep improving. This is not the end, just the beginning.

Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa captain

I could not be prouder of this team for the campaign we had. Brilliant cricket throughout but outplayed today. Unfortunate to be on the losing side but we will definitely grow from this. We did so well to put those couple of bad games behind us. We were either really good or really bad, but thankfully more of the really good. Amazing tournament for a lot of the players, and proud of the resilience we showed.

Probably did not have my best year leading into the World Cup (as a batter) and probably did not start it well. Overthinking, it was not good. It is just another game of cricket, trying to separate the two and that sort of freed me up a bit to play my natural game and then focus on the captaincy at a different time.

We were hoping for a little bit more (swing). There was still something in it, so still feel it was the right call to bowl. We were in it for a lot of the chase but lost too many wickets. I kept checking that scoreboard and they were definitely tracking for 350. Back end was amazing (with the ball) and we have been amazing throughout. We really felt we could chase it.

She (Shafali Verma) batted excellently. That is the way she plays. When it comes off, she can really hurt teams.

She (Marizanne Kapp) has been phenomenal for so many editions. Really sad it is going to be her last one. Whole group wanted to win it for her. She is two players in one and very happy she is on our team.

Deepti Sharma, Player of the tournament

Honestly, this is feeling like a dream because we have not been able to come out of that emotion. Feeling really nice I could contribute this way in a World Cup final. We have always thought about how we can use the takeaways from every match. Thanks to them (the fans), this would not have been possible. As a team, we are feeling very happy.

I always enjoy, whichever department I am in, or whichever situation is. I wanted to play according to the situation. Enjoyed a lot. As a stage, to perform as an all-rounder, it cannot be a more amazing feeling.

Laura played a very good innings. But we were always calm, and cheering each other up. As a bowling unit, we were talking about going to the last ball and to focus on our best ball, and that is what we did.

There has been a lot of change since 2017. I hope there are even more matches now. I just wanted to dedicate this trophy to my mom and dad.