India’s dazzling captain Harmanpreet Kaur explained that Shafali Verma’s instinctive sense of trust with the ball helped the Men in Blue turn the game around at a time when South Africa were looking ominous. With Proteas skipper Laura Wolvaardt looking unbeatable alongside Sune Luus, Shafali sent the final packing with a brilliant catch. She picked up Marizanne Kapp in her next over to leave South Africa reeling at 123-4 in 22.1 overs.
“When Laura and Son were batting, they looked really good. I saw Shefali standing there, and the way she had batted earlier – I knew it was her day. My heart said, ‘Give her one.’ I went with my gut. I asked her if she was ready, and she said yes right away. She always wanted to contribute with the ball, and that changed everything for us. When she first joined the team, we told her that she might need to bowl two or three overs. She said, ‘If you give me the ball, I will bowl ten balls.’ For the team!” That’s how confident she is. “She is brave, positive and always ready to step up for the team,” Harmanpreet said in a post-match interview.
The captain also said that she knew that even after back-to-back losses, the team had something special to bounce back from adversity.
“Even after those three defeats, we always had that belief. We talked about it after the last game – we knew this team had something special to turn things around. Credit to every member. They stayed positive, focused, and gave everything night in and day out. This team really deserves to be here,” she said.
India finally won the ICC Women’s Trophy on Sunday when they defeated South Africa by 52 runs. Shafali also impressed with 87 runs while Deepti Sharma impressed with both bat and ball, scoring 58 and then taking 4 wickets to help India register a famous win.
(Tags for translation)Harmanpreet Kaur
