Mithali Raj, in the 18th year of her professional career and after having featured in four World Cup campaigns earlier, is a win away from realising her dream. The leading run-scorer in Women's One Day Internationals, along with the leading wicket-taker -- Jhulan Goswami -- are eyeing a fairytale end to their brilliant careers.
These magical numbers aside, there is a bigger picture to the story as India take on England in the final of the Women's World Cup 2017 at Lord's -- which is expected to host a sell-out crowd on Sunday.
India has always witnessed Men's cricket being in the spotlight, with little interest for the Women's game. The female counterparts of Sachin Tendulkars and Virat Kohlis have not enjoyed as much adulation despite being one of the bests in the business.
But, Raj and her girls have an opportunity to change all that. The Women in Blue are already making headlines and a win on Sunday will help trigger a revolution in India women's cricket, similar to the one that "Kapil's Devils" brought about in 1983.
India -- Road to the final
Heading into the tournament in good form, India Women stunned hosts England by 36 runs at Derby to begin their campaign in style. Three more wins -- against West Indies, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka -- followed, but Raj's side was brought down to earth by South Africa, who sealed a massive 115-run win at Leicester.
Raj side, in the group stage, were no match to the mighty Australians as the six-time champions crushed India by eight wickets. Facing a must-win situation against New Zealand in their final group game, the Women in Blue stepped up. A ton from Raj and a quickfire innings from Veda Krishnamurthy sealed a semi-final berth for India.
In the semi-final, it was payback time as Harmanpreet Kaur-led India knocked the defending champions out of the tournament. An 115-ball 171 from the Chandigarh girl proved too good for Meg Lanning's side.
England -- Road to finals
On the other hand, England bounced back strongly from their tournament-opening defeat to India and went on to win all their next seven matches, including a tightly-fought semi-final against South Africa.
Players to watch out for
Skipper Raj, who has already hit 392 runs in the ongoing tournament, will be expected to bring in all her experience on the big day and lead the team from the front.
At Lord's, the onus will be on pacers Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey to deliver big. While the spinners - Ekta Bisht, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad -- have done most of the damage in the tournament, the conditions at the Mecca of Cricket are likely to pose a different challenge to Raj's bowling unit.
On the other hand, India will also want their openers -- Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Raut, who have been quite inconsistent, to fire as a good start on the big day is certainly going to help the team.
Big-hitting Harmanpreet was reportedly seen struggling with shoulder injury concerns on the eve of the big final, but Raj sounded optimistic about her inclusion in the side.
England are a batting-heavy unit and they will rely heavily on skipper Heather Knight and senior member Sarah Taylor to do the damage on Sunday. Also, openers Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont have also piled up runs at will in the ongoing tournament and the duo can take the game away from India very early if they get the eye in.
Battle of nerves
While the home side is expected to have good support on Sunday, Raj and her girls might as well have a considerable number rooting for them at the Lord's. The final is garnering massive interest and it will easily be the most-watched Women's cricket match in the history of the sport.
However, the 22 women, who will step out on the field, will be under immense pressure. The team, which manages to beat the nerves and focus on the job in the hand, will finish on top of the world on Sunday evening.
When is the match and how to watch it
Date: 23 July, Sunday
Venue: The Lord's, London
Time: 3pm IST/9:30am GMT/10:30am local
TV schedule and live streaming information
INDIA: TV - Star Sports 1/HD. Live stream - Hotstar
AUSTRALIA: TV - Channel Nine, Fox Sports. Live stream - Fox Sports Live
UK: TV - Sky Sports. Live stream - Sky Go
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