Shafali Verma: “I cannot express this feeling in words”
Media release
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.”
ENDS