Wolvaardt kept South Africa, who were all out for 246 in the 46th over, in the chase but once she holed out in the deep, India took charge of the contest.
India opener Smriti Mandhana, their leading scorer in the tournament, summed up the feeling in their camp after they clinched victory following two previous final defeats.
“It’s still sinking in. I haven’t been emotional on a cricket field but just an unreal night,” she said, battling tears.
“To be the champions, I’m not able to process it.
“Every World Cup we go in, there have been so many heartbreaks, but we always believe we have a responsibility with women’s cricket and to see the last month and a half and the way we’ve been supported … I will take that 45 days of not sleeping every night.”
Wolvaardt finished as the tournament’s leading scorer but found little joy in personal milestones.
“I couldn’t be prouder of this team for the campaign that we’ve had,” the opener said.
“We’ve played some brilliant cricket throughout, but we were outplayed today, India played fantastically well.
“We had a lot of different players stepping up, it was an amazing tournament for a lot of players. I’m just proud of the resilience we showed to get to the final.”
Source: CNA
