Women’s ODI World Cup | Destiny’s child — Shafali’s final heroics and fairytale finish

For a while, the Women’s ODI World Cup felt similar the publication of a film. A struggling leader is sent backmost to the drafting committee to hole deficiencies, and suddenly, a telephone comes to present for the federation astatine the hardest signifier of each — a World Cup.

This is Shafali Verma’s reality. She led India to its archetypal silverware for the women erstwhile she lifted the under-19 T20 World Cup trophy successful South Africa successful 2023. On Sunday, she was beforehand and centre of a 52-run triumph implicit the Proteas successful the acme clash, with a 78-ball 87 and 2 important wickets.

“God has sent maine present to bash thing nice, conscionable blessed I could marque the squad win,” Shafali said aft the win.

At 21 years and 278 days, Shafali is the youngest to triumph the Player-of-the-Match grant astatine a Women’s World Cup final.

Shafali, who was retired of the Indian ODI set-up for a year, was playing the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy. A freak fracture to Pratika Rawal opened the doorway for Shafali’s return.

More than her half-century, her archetypal successful ODIs since 2022, it was her instant interaction with the shot that near the Proteas stunned.

“When Shafali joined the team, we were missing the overs from Pratika. Shafali has been bowling a batch successful home cricket. When Amol (Muzumdar) sir spoke to her, she said: ‘I’m acceptable for 10 overs,’” skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said aft the game.

“I didn’t privation to spell backmost to the room, reasoning wherefore I didn’t try. Those back-to-back wickets [of Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp] were a turning constituent for us,” she added.

Coach Muzumdar has ever maintained that Shafali was ne'er retired of the ODI strategy of things. “If you look astatine it positively, a subordinate arsenic bully arsenic Shafali not uncovering a spot successful the 15 is specified a bully sign,” helium said.

“It’s each destiny. When Pratika got injured, we were each gutted. This squad prays for each other, stays unneurotic done ups and downs. First Yastika Bhatia and past Pratika. When Shafali came, we didn’t privation her to consciousness that she came successful nether an wounded cloud. Everybody was truthful positive. Everyone was reasoning that our extremity end was this trophy, and we worked time and night. This is the result,” Harmanpreet added.