Rana said she had made a "note" on September 27 where she had drawn the World Cup and inscribed that India wold win the trophy this time around.
A night before the historic final against South Africa, the Indian women's team captain received a special phone call and it was none other than the history maker himself.
Loss to Australia in 2023 WC still rankles Surya, wants to play them in next year's T20 showpiece final
Wei Yi holds Sindarov with black in first game of final; Esipenko beats Yakubboev
FIDE World Cup: Arjun draws again to reach tiebreaker against Wei Yi
Seeking to qualify for the Candidates' event, India's top-rated Arjun Erigaisi walked off with an easy draw with his Chinese counterpart Wei Yi in the first game of the quarterfinals, in Panaji on Monday.
India's Narayanan, Diptayan, Aronyak advance to second round
'I am very happy with the squad and the way they are playing at this moment.'
FIDE World Cup: Arjun storms into quarterfinals of the World Cup
From travelling in unreserved coaches to cusp of history, Indian women's cricket set to turn a page
Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna had another good day as they sent veteran Peter Leko of Hungary and Swede Nils Grandelius packing in the fourth-round tiebreaker at the Chess World Cup, in Panaji on Thursday.
'...There's nothing to say about the chess aspect... One of those places that you don't feel sad about leaving.'
India will go into the home World Cup as defending champions, having won the previous edition in Barbados in June last year.
Grandmaster Diptayan Ghosh caused the biggest upset of the World Chess Cup, ousting former world championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia after winning the second game of the second round, in Panjim, on Wednesday.
Rajeev Shukla recalled his conversations with Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, revealing that the 'Master Blaster' had expressed confidence that a young Virat Kohli could one day break his major batting records.
The Indian cricket team is not where it "wants to be" in terms of its preparations for next year's T20 World Cup yet but head coach Gautam Gambhir says there is enough time in hand to get there.
After her early dismissal, Georgia Plimmer brought some spark to the White Ferns' innings, taking on the English attack with a flurry of boundaries.
'...I think they deserve the trophy the way they played the semi-final game'
Having played the most defining knock of her career to ensure South Africa's maiden entry into Women's ODI World Cup final, skipper Laura Wolvaardt found the feeling to be surreal.
Australia expecting tough contest, under no illusions given India's depth of batting: Nitschke
In keeping with workload management for frontline pacers, spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is also likely to be rested from the three-match ODI series, which carries little significance in the build-up to the T20 showpiece.
'I'm really eager because it's a World Cup. We're coming off winning the last one, and being able to defend it on the field again is spectacular because it's always a dream to play with the national team.'
'The only thought was that we have to give it all in those seven hours for our country.'
India's campaign was on the verge of derailment after losing back-to-back games to South Africa, Australia and England. Against England, India were cruising at 234 for 3 before failing to surpass a target of 289.
India Women suffer injury scare as Pratika Rawal hobbles off field during Bangladesh clash
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will be playing an ODI World Cup final for the third time, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017 to Australia and England, respectively. This will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the final.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar identified Shubman Gill's recent lack of runs and combination compulsions as reasons for his omission from India's squad for the T20 World Cup.
Facing the pressure of playing in a World Cup on home soil, Rodrigues struggled for consistence, posting two ducks and a pair of 30s before being dropped for India's group-stage match against England.
'I'm feeling strong. I am feeling fit, and I am feeling ready to go,'
UNICEF India Ambassador, Kareena was seen wishing the Indian players before the toss.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt scored a hundred for the ages before the seasoned Marizanne Kapp made the ball talk in good batting conditions to script a 125-run victory over England and enter their maiden Women's ODI Cup final, in Guwahati, on Wednesday.
Stand-in-skipper Tahlia McGrath lauded "world-class" Annabel Sutherland and Ashleigh Gardner for bailing Australia out of early wobble and guiding them to a six-wicket win over England in the Women's World Cup match, in Indore, on Wednesday.
Women's WC: Rain forces abandonment of Sri Lanka's match against Australia
The source said they were also complaints of the head coach not being accessible or gelling well with other team officials due to his attitude.
Norway secured a commanding 5-0 win at home to Israel in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday, as Erling Haaland struck a hat-trick to celebrate his 50th international goal and helped move his side to the brink of a place at next year's tournament.
Morale in Indian camp is high, one-week break has been good for us, says Deepti
At this moment, the Indian think tank is doing a tough balancing act of building the team around a new set of players without completely cutting ties with the old guard.
What began as a routine fielding effort in Sydney turned into a serious health scare for Shreyas Iyer, who suffered a ruptured spleen during the third ODI against Australia.
India bounced back from three successive defeats after starting the Women's World Cup as one of the favourites.
I'd like India to have extra bowling depth against Australia: Ian bishop
