Her bowling took everyone by surprise – not least the South Africans. Before Sunday, Nov 2, Shafali had bowled just 14 overs in 30 one-day internationals. But in Navi Mumbai, in a World Cup final, her 15th and 16th proved to be significant and successful.
First, Suné Luus pinged back a limp return catch. Then Marizanne Kapp poked at one down the leg side and was caught behind.
There is more to it. For the 21-year-old Shafali, this was the culmination of a surreal week: Tuesday, approved as an injury replacement for Pratika; Thursday, dismissed after five balls in the semi‑final;
Sunday - Nov 2 evening --- hitting the winning knock in the World Cup final.
Indeed, Indian Team had two history-making heroines/heroes. The first was the unlikely figure of Shafali Verma, playing in this match only because of the ankle injury sustained by Pratika Rawal.
But then comes a career-best 87 from 78 balls and two wickets.
Then, just as this final threatened to become a nailbiter, Deepti Sharma – who had contributed 58 runs – executed the perfect yorker to bowl Annerie Dercksen, and followed it up with the key scalp of Wolvaardt as Amanjot Kaur ran round from deep midwicket to take a diving juggle‑catch. For Amanjot it was third time lucky with the catch: for India, third time lucky in a World Cup final.
“I am so grateful for this crowd – thank you for being there for us,” India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, said, even as their booming cheers made it impossible for her to hear the post-match interview questions.
“We lost three back-to-back games, but we knew this team had something special to turn things around.”
The India head coach, Amol Mazumda, said: “They’ve done every Indian proud. It’s a watershed moment for Indian cricket.”
For South Africa, the nightmare: after the T20 despair of 2023 and 2024, another World Cup slipping through their fingers.
Harmanpreet called Shafali’s spell the turning point: “I just saw Shafali standing there, and the way she batted today, I knew it was her day. I thought: ‘I have to go with my gut feeling. I’m going to give her one over.’ She was like: ‘I’m going to bowl 10 overs for the team.’ That shows how confident she was.”
South Africa had beaten the odds once in a run chase in this tournament, against this same opposition, after a thundering effort from Nadine de Klerk at the death.
Now, Dercksen smashed Radha Yadav for the biggest six of the tournament, 84 metres, while De Klerk threatened to punish India for their poor use of the decision review system, given not out lbw to Deepti – a decision India were unable to send upstairs after burning through both their reviews earlier in the innings. But it was Deepti who had the last word, adding a fifth wicket to her tally: De Klerk sent a catch flying up to cover, Harmanpreet plucked it out of the air, and the pair converged with joy to begin a celebration which will no doubt last long into the night.
Actor Manoj Bajpayee expressed his admiration for the team’s performance, noting the significance of the chase.
He wrote, “Kamaal kar diya! (fire emoji) Into the finals! Pure heart, grit and class from our women in blue. Chasing 339, the highest in women’s ODI history. A moment that lifts the game and pushes women’s cricket forward in a big way.”
ends
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