NAVI MUMBAI, India, CMC – Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma starred with both bat and ball to lead India Women to their maiden Women’s World Cup title via a 52-run victory over South Africa in the final here on Sunday.
Verma smashed 87 off 78 balls, including seven fours and one six, while Sharma hit a run-a-ball 58, as the home side posted a formidable total of 298 for seven in their 50 overs after being sent in to bat at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy.
South Africa’s inspirational captain, Laura Wolvaardt, then blasted 101 off 98 balls with 11 fours and one six at the top of the order to give her side a chance of pulling off an unlikely victory. But Sharma and Verma shared seven wickets between them to bowl them out for 246 in 45.3 overs.
Sharma finished with figures of 5-39, while Verma claimed 2-36.
The result completed an incredible turnaround for India, who lost three consecutive group-stage games before their march to glory, which included dumping defending champions Australia out at the semifinal stage.
India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, was full of praise for her troops after the historic win.
“Last game, we spoke that self-belief was there, even though we lost three back-to-back games. We knew we had something special to turn things around.
“We 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,” Kaur said.
“This is the start. We wanted to break this barrier. And our next plan is to make this a habit. We were waiting for it. Now this moment has come. So many big occasions are coming, and we want to keep improving. This is not the end, just the beginning.”
and then 