Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Shafali Verma after the Women in Blue won their maiden World Cup title after beating South Africa by 52 runs at Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Verma had got a belated call to the Indian squad after opener Pratika Rawal suffered a freakish ankle injury in the league stage match against Bangladesh.
The 21-year-old could not deliver in the semifinal clash against Australia as she was dismissed after scoring only 10 runs. However, Verma was at her absolute best in the summit clash against the Proteas as she scored a crucial knock of 87 runs off 78 balls to help India post 298 runs after South African captain Laura Wolvaardt decided to bowl first.
The Indian opener scored seven fours and two sixes in her match-winning knock and scored her runs at an impressive strike rate of 111.54.
Furthermore, Verma got two crucial wickets, returning with figures of 2-36 in seven overs she bowled. The off-spinner accounted for Sune Luus and broke the 51-run partnership the latter had with her captain, Wolvaardt. Moreover, Verma dismissed Marizanne Kapp caught down the leg-side. Thus, Verma was awarded Player of the Match for her all-round performance.
“When we came to bat, the Player of the Match came, the one who had something written in her destiny. That’s Shafali Verma. She wasn’t selected in the team. She wasn’t even in the standbys. If someone’s name is not there in the team and the standbys, what are their chances of playing, but she played,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“She batted tremendously and also picked up two wickets, and those were the crucial wickets. It was written somewhere above. She scored a half-century in ODIs after three-and-a-half years. She wasn’t even part of the team for the last one year, and when Pratika Rawal was playing, she was playing so well that she (Shafali) wasn’t being remembered,” he added.
On the other hand, Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma was awarded Player of the Tournament. Sharma scored a crucial knock of 58 and also bagged a five-wicket haul (5-39) in the final. The renowned commentator praised Deepti for her consistent performance throughout the tournament.
“Deepti Sharma came and played at a run-a-ball. I felt Deepti could have played a little faster, but Deepti did whatever Deepti does. Deepti absorbed the pressure. She has done this throughout the tournament. She started and ended the tournament with a half-century,” he said.
“India were struggling then and here also they got stuck once in the middle, but Deepti was there. She picked up a five-wicket haul. First woman to do that in a World Cup final, someone who picked up five wickets and scored a half-century as well. She also had a throw, and this is how Deepti started,” Chopra observed.
Deepti scalped 22 wickets in the nine matches of the ODI showpiece, ending as the leading wicket-taker.
