India win women’s cricket World Cup with victory over South Africa
Player of the tournament, Sharma (5-39) and player of the final, Verma (2-36), were the heroes in possession as India became the fourth country to win the Women’s World Cup in its 52-year history, after England, Australia and New Zealand.
Verma’s flamboyant performance felt like a fairy tale for the home team. Just last week, the 21-year-old, who was once the much-hyped 15-year-old wonder girl of the India game but later lost her place in the team, was sitting at home when the call came after star opener Pratika Rawal was injured.
The player of the final, Shafali Verma, dismissed South African Marizanne Kapp.Credit: Getty Images
She proved to be quite brilliant, smashing 87 off 78 balls with seven fours and two sixes and taking India to a flying start with Smriti Mandhana, the duo scoring 104 for the opening wicket in just 17.4 overs.
Then Harmanpreet had a “gut feeling” that Verma, a part-time spinner, could also do something with the ball.
“I just saw Shafali standing there… My heart was telling me that I should hand over at least one of them to her and that was the turning point for us.”
As South Africa progressed to 2-113, the skipper bowled the ball to the woman who had previously taken only one ODI wicket, and Verma responded by catching Sune Luus and bowling her in her second over, before leaving key all-rounder Marizanne Kapp in the next over.
Victorious Indians.Credit: access point
This left the great Wolvaardt fighting almost alone, surpassing Healy’s record for most runs in a single tournament in 2022, amassing 571 against the Australian’s 509.
But in the 42nd over, when Sharma was holed out deep, the game was effectively over with Amanjot Kaur juggling the ball in the deep and then holding on enthusiastically.
“I’m really proud of the resilience we showed all the way to the final,” said a disappointed Wolvaardt, who was beaten in a second successive global final after last year’s T20 match against New Zealand.
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The big show ended fittingly with Harmanpreet taking a perfect over-the-shoulder catch from Sharma’s full delivery, which provided extra cover to evade Nadine de Klerk, leaving the skipper running wild with excitement as the crowd celebrated with equal joy.
“I think it’s all fate; I truly believe that,” Harmanpreet said.
AAP
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