New Delhi: Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana, who have now earned the title of “fire and ice”, held each other for over a minute after winning the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. They let their tears roll down. And this moment went viral, capturing the shared journey of heartbreak to glory.
Mandhana and Harmanpreet emerged from the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 as a successful leadership pair whose on-field chemistry became one of the tournament’s quiet stories.
Harmanpreet’s combative, take-charge instincts, when teamed with Mandanna’s calm and composed presence, made the perfect balance. That emotional and practical partnership showed up in small but telling moments.
Prashant Shetty, head coach at Mumbai training academy KKalpavriksha Cricket Clinic, who attended the final clash in DY Patil Stadium, noted how Harmanpreet always listens to her deputy. There was a lot of back and forth between the two, especially for bowling changes in the final against South Africa.
“After Shafali took two wickets, Harmanpreet had got Shree Charani on attack. And, there was no action happening for a couple of overs. So, I saw Mandhana having a chat with the skipper, right after which Harmanpreet got Shafali back into the attack,” Shetty, who is also the coach of Jemimah Rodrigues, told ThePrint.
“Their camaraderie was a delight to watch. And, they both have a role to play in each other’s success. No one is trying to overshadow another.”
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‘Fire & ice’
Former cricketer Gargi Raut described the duo of Harmanpreet and Mandhana as “fire and ice.”
“Harmanpreet is aggressive, bold, and direct, while Smriti is calm, composed, and the pillar who always lends an ear to the youngsters in the team,” Raut said, summing up the duo’s contrasting yet complementary personalities.
Meanwhile, veteran sports writer Ayaz Memon attributes their strong bond to years of shared experiences, both highs and lows. He recalls that their friendship truly began to blossom around 2017, a period that also marked a turning point in both their careers.
“Smriti became the prolific run-getter, whereas Harmanpreet became captain. She, too, was great with the bat. In a sense, a personal friendship and professional teamwork grew hand in hand,” Memon said.
He also pointed out that the pair has weathered several setbacks together, from the heartbreak of the 2017 ODI World Cup final to the 2020 T20 World Cup and the Commonwealth Games loss.
The captain-vice captain’s collaboration, in Memon’s eyes, has to be in sync. That’s how it is supposed to be, he said. However, it becomes a topic of discussion when their equation isn’t.
“When the relationship between skipper and vice captain isn’t strong, as it once was between Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet, the two had a rocky patch, it impacts on-field chemistry. The vice-captain may hesitate to advise, and the captain may resist taking suggestions,” Memon noted.
But in Harmanpreet and Smriti’s case, he compared their rapport to that of former cricket legends Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami.
“When friendship exists, you’re all ears. Harman is a stalwart, and Smriti, being a WPL captain herself, brings valuable leadership experience. Harman listens to her. When your journeys run parallel, mutual respect naturally follows,” he explained.
Raut added that the duo has been united in pursuit of one dream: the World Cup.
“While India’s first half of the campaign was far from ideal, the captain and deputy complimented each other perfectly. There were multiple moments when Smriti would talk to the bowlers, keep the spirits high when chips were down and didn’t hold back from communicating with the leader,” she said.
The hug said it all
Harmanpreet embraced her deputy with the two sharing an emotional moment after the skipper, while backpedaling at extra cover, took the catch of Nadine de Klerk on Deepti Sharma’s ball.
So happy for these two Harmanpreet & Smriti 🥹 pic.twitter.com/arlHpzGyIr
— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) November 2, 2025
The two senior players shared the emotional moment before posing for pictures with the Indian tricolour wrapped around them. It reminded many of the Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli moment in Barbados, after India lifted the ICC T20 World Cup.
Camera shots captured Kaur and Mandhana hugging and breaking down together.
After all, they went through the heartbreak of losing an ODI World Cup eight summers ago. So, this win was way too personal. They buried the demons of the 2017 World Cup together.
Those images became shorthand for a leadership duo that had taken the team through a dramatically uneven tournament run to a title.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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