In what proved to be a thrilling finale to the competition, India chased down their target of 254 in the last over of the final at the P. Sara Stadium in Sri Lanka.

Stand-in captain Harmanpreet Kaur was the heroine for the Indian side, hitting nine runs off the last over of the match bowled by Marcia Letsoala.

It looked as though South Africa would be crowned champions of the event when India scored just one run from Letsoala's first four balls before the momentum changed thanks to Kaur's huge six.

She then hit the sixth delivery for two to hand India victory, sparking jubilant celebrations from the team and delegation of officials.

Both teams had already qualified for the World Cup, along with Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

They will join hosts England, defending champions Australia, New Zealand and West Indies at the one-day international format tournament, due to be held from June 24 to July 23.

"To be honest, I was waiting for that ball because that is my strong area," Kaur said. 

"I know we needed nine runs in the final over and I was going to hit the ball. 

"if we run then we will go for two runs. 

"My partner also did a great job and ran two runs. 

"It was a totally team effort from our side."

South Africa had put in a decent performance with the bat as Mignon du Preez top-scored with 40 on their way to posting 244 all out.

Rajeshwari Gayakwad was the pick of the bowlers as she took 3-51, while Shikha Pandey chipped in with 2-41.

India started slowly in response and their innings looked to be faltering early on when they were 20-1 after 7.3 overs.

Opener Mona Meshram and left-hander Deepti Sharma added 124 runs in the next 25 overs to lay the platform for victory and they reached their target with one wicket in hand.