Shafali Verma (Photo ICC)
ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Final Player of the Match Shafali Verma was left speechless after coming in from the cold to play a starring role in India’s 52-run win over South Africa in Navi Mumbai.
The opening batter – who was only called into the squad ahead of the semi-finals following an injury to Pratika Rawal – produced a superb knock of 87 from 78 balls to help her side post a total of 298 for seven before returning figures of two for 36 to restrict the Proteas during their chase.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt was the rock of her country’s response as she scored her second consecutive hundred, but Deepti Sharma’s five-wicket haul turned the tide irrevocably in the hosts’ favour to seal the historic triumph.
“I said at the start, that God has sent me here to do something nice, and that reflected today,” the Player of the Match said. “[I’m] very happy that we won and I cannot express it in words. It was difficult but I had confidence in myself, that if I can stay calm, I could achieve everything.
“I just wanted to make my team win. My mind was clear, and I worked on my plans. So, [I’m] happy that I could execute them and everyone was supporting me. They [the senior players] asked me just to play my own game, and when you get that clarity, that is all you need.”
“It is a very memorable moment. When I saw him [Sachin Tendulkar], it gave me an incredible boost. I keep talking to him, he keeps giving me confidence. He is the master of cricket, and we keep getting inspired just looking at him.”
Sharma was named Player of the Tournament after finishing as the World Cup’s leading wicket taker with 22 scalps – five more than Australia’s Annabel Sutherland in second place.
The 28-year-old ripped through South Africa’s middle and lower order whilst the game was in the balance, while she also picked up the key scalp of Proteas’ skipper Wolvaardt, having earlier hit a composed 58 during India’s efforts with the bat.
“Honestly, this feels like a dream,” said Sharma. “[It] feels really nice I could contribute this way in a World Cup final. We have always thought about how we can use the takeaways from every match. As a team, we are feeling very happy.
“I always enjoy, whichever department I am in, or whatever the situation is. I wanted to play according to the situation. I enjoyed it a lot. At this stage, to perform as an all-rounder, it cannot be a more amazing feeling. Laura played a very good innings. But we were always calm and cheering each other up. As a bowling unit, we were talking about going to the last ball and to focus on our best ball, and that is what we did.”
The Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy was a sea of blue during the thrilling encounter and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed her gratitude at the rapturous support her team had received not just in the final, but during the entire tournament
She added: “I am so grateful for this crowd, they have been really amazing. Thank you for being with us in all our ups and downs. Last game also, we spoke about that self-belief being there, even though we lost three back-to-back games.
“We knew we had something special to turn things around. They stayed positive, we knew what we had to do, everyone was so involved, they were there day and night and this team deserves to be there.”
Meanwhile, Wolvaardt expressed her pride at South Africa’s journey during the ICC Women’s World Cup.
The Proteas skipper followed up her 169 in the semi-finals with a second-successive century – hitting 101 from 98 balls – during her country’s pursuit of 299.
Wolvaardt’s outfit’s campaign has seen heavy losses – notably after being bowled out for just 69 and 97 against England and Australia respectively – mixed with superb victories, such as those over India in the group stages and against Nat Sciver-Brunt’s side in the last four, and the skipper took solace in South Africa’s ability to bounce back when required.
“I could not be prouder of this team for the campaign we had,” she said. “[We played] brilliant cricket throughout but [were] outplayed today [by India]. [It is] unfortunate to be on the losing side but we will definitely grow from this.”
When asked about being dismissed cheaply against England and Australia, Wolvaardt continued: “We did so well to put those couple of bad games behind us.
“We were either really good or really bad, but thankfully more of the really good [came through]. [It has been an] amazing tournament for a lot of the players, and [I’m] proud of the resilience we showed.”
Wolvaardt’s haul of 571 runs was not just the most at this year’s World Cup, but it is the most ever, breaking Alyssa Healy’s record of 509 set in 2022.
The 26-year-old’s 169 was also the highest individual score of the competition and she spoke about the importance of being able to separate the roles of being a batter and a captain.
She said: “I probably did not have my best year leading into the World Cup and did not start it well. Overthinking, it was not good.
“It is just another game of cricket, trying to separate the two freed me up a bit to play my natural game and then focus on the captaincy at a different time.”
Reflecting on the game, Wolvaardt was pleased with the way her bowlers were able to keep India from scoring more than 300 after Shafali Verma (87) and Smriti Mandhana (45) had got the hosts off to a fast start but cited the regular falling of wickets during South Africa’s chase as crucial to their defeat.
She added: “We were hoping for a little bit more [swing]. There was still something in the pitch, so I still feel it was the right call to bowl.
“We were in it for a lot of the chase but lost too many wickets. I kept checking that scoreboard and India were definitely tracking for 350.
“Our back end [bowling] was amazing, and we have been amazing throughout. We really felt we could chase it. [But Verma] batted excellently. That is the way she plays. When it comes off, she can really hurt teams.”
