Just after midnight, as the winning catch nestled in Harmanpreet Kaur's palms, she took off for a euphoric run with the chasing pack, led by Smriti Mandhana, right behind. The joy on her face said everything. The baggage of two decades, and two previous finals, had finally given way. Harmanpreet didn't fling the ball away in triumph. She instead clutched it through the night of celebration, for it wasn't just a piece of leather anymore, but history now.

The support staff sneaked in the national flags, sprinting on to the field to join the raw outpouring of emotion while ensuring the team walked back in the backdrop of the tricolour they had done proud. Once the handshakes were over, the hugs quickly followed. Radha Yadav took one of the flags and wrapped it around Harmanpreet and Mandhana, sealing their longest hug of the night yet - one that seemed to last the length of their shared journey this past decade. From the torchbearers, and leaders of this generation to now immortal icons. Maybe it was a symbolic closure - the baton formally passed. But the drama was still unfolding.

It had barely been a few minutes, and none of this had sunk in yet, but the team did not forget to wheel in young Pratika Rawal. Proudly flaunting her India jersey, Rawal teared up too. She didn't get her own winners' medal - for she was withdrawn following a hairline fracture ahead of the knockouts - but Mandhana quietly slipped her own over Rawal's neck. Mandhana's gesture was a silent acknowledgement that even though Rawal's name didn't appear on the team-sheet for the final, her effort was stitched into the history they had just scripted. Rawal gently protested but Mandhana only wheeled her forward onto the podium for trophy handover, ensuring her fellow opener's contribution too found its place in the frame.

Slightly to their right, Harmanpreet and Shafali Verma were huddled together, rehearsing the trophy celebration. The Indian skipper had said on the eve of the game that nothing about a win of such magnitude could ever be scripted to perfection, yet maybe for this they decided to give a little poetic nod to the past - to the trailblazers who couldn't make the podium. Bringing over the trophy from the ICC chairman, Harmanpreet Kaur teased her team, hoisting it halfway once, and then again, before finally lifting it into the confetti rain on the third attempt. Two final heartbreaks behind them, third time'

Jemiamah Rodrigues kicked off the victory lap around the stadium to give the 70% of the 39,555 fans that had stayed back for more than an hour after the game, a close-up view of the latest World Cup in India's cabinet, and the team that broke the jinx. The stadium put on loud the choicest patriotic songs to enhance the vibes as thousands sang, cheered and waved.

Then, in a gesture rooted in gratitude, the team's victory procession enveloped former stars Anjum Chopra, Jhulan Goswami, Reema Malhotra and Mithali Raj - all broadcasters now but once teammates in the two previously failed quests. The tears, hugs and trophy hoists were more than just mere emotion. It was closure for them too. For the remainder of the lap, these past legends walked shoulder to shoulder with the latest world champions in a reminder that their sacrifices and struggles also contributed to this win.

The post-match presentation was an amalgamation of colour and sound. The roar of the crowd, mixed with the unending fireworks, meant Harmanpreet had to really strain her ears to get Mel Jones's drift. So, she decided to raise a toast to them first. Words of praise were also reserved for the losing finalists, who gave them a run for their money for as long as their skipper Laura Wolvaardt stayed in the middle.

Just moments before, in a gesture that transcended rivalry and showcased newly-forged camaraderie, the trio of Jemimah Rodrigues, Arundhati Reddy and Radha Yadav had engulfed their deeply emotional Delhi Capitals teammate, Marizanne Kapp in the biggest bear-hug. Harleen Deol checked in on Wolvaardt, who remained stoic as ever on the outside. Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, too, came over for quick chats and pats. South Africa's trophy cabinet remains empty despite a third straight final across formats; their captain's record-breaking run reduced to a mere footnote.

For Amol Muzumdar, though, the victory might have helped close an old chapter. A prolific batter himself with over 11000 first-class runs, he never played for India. Today, as the World Cup head coach on his home soil, he stepped out of the shadows to complete a redemption arc that seems written for a movie script.

There was another powerful full-circle moment. A legend who had once unknowingly inspired a nine-year-old girl in a small-town stadium now watched her earn the team sport's greatest prize, with a nearly 40,000-strong crowd chanting her name in unison. A late injury replacement, Shafali Verma had declared that "if God has brought me here now, it must be for something good". Destiny ensured if not her father, her inspiration - Sachin Tendulkar - was in attendance to witness Verma write her own chapter of history in the most dramatic way.

Verma posed for a photo with the Rodrigues family; the Bhullars and the Deols waited patiently by the inner ring, as did some other partners and friends when the team strode out once again for a mid-pitch celebration after a quick meeting. The flooodlights came on in a jiffy, and the huddle broke into a sing-along, tapping water bottles against their palms to keep the beat going. The cameras came out soon enough for family photos as the celebrations stretched late into the night. As did the content capture. Harmanpreet and Harleen Deol couldn't resist some very tired bhangra as a dhol procession greeted them once the team slowly started to cross over to their hotel on ground.

Long after the lights had dimmed for the final time in this World Cup, the dewy confetti-strewn outfield of the venue the team calls 'home' still bore witness to a crowning glory many years in the making. For once, there were no tears of what-ifs, only tears of what finally was.