It was a historic victory for the Indian women’s team as they defeated South Africa to lift the Women’s World Cup 2025 trophy. The match had many highlights, but it was Shafali Verma who came as a surprise. While Shafali got India off to a good start to their innings, it was his bowling that surprised many.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt was surprised by Shafali Verma’s bowling
During South Africa’s batting, when Harmanpreet Kaur handed the ball to Shafali, it came as a surprise to many as no one expected her to do the magic. Speaking about Shafali’s bowling in a post-match conference, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt said:
“I didn’t really expect her to bowl much today, so it was a surprise factor on her part. She bowled front-handed and very slowly and was able to pick up a couple of wickets. “In a World Cup final, you don’t want to lose wickets to a part-time bowler.
In the same interaction, Wolvaardt revealed that she was frustrated with the way Shafali bowled as her team was not prepared for her to bowl. In his words:
“It was frustrating that she could also get two big ones. Then we almost had to err on the side of caution to not give her more wickets. She bowled quite well. I guess it’s frustrating, because she’s not really the person you plan for. But yeah, she played well.”
Harmanpreet revealed why he decided to let Shafali Verma play
Shafali Verma is the clearest example of what can be achieved with faith and determination. They doubted her and abandoned her, but the 21-year-old proved everyone wrong during the final. Shafali was previously told she was no longer needed in the one-day program; his inconsistency outweighed his performance. He watched from the sidelines as India found a firm hand in Pratika Rawal.
Before the final, he had bowled only 14 overs in his entire ODI career. But when Harmanpreet handed her the bowl, she never imagined that she was ready to make her mark again. Shafali dismissed two of South Africa’s most reliable middle-order batsmen, Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp. In a post-match interaction, Harmanpreet revealed why he let Shafali bowl and said:
“When Laura and Sune were batting, they looked very good. I saw Shafali standing there, and the way she was batting, I knew it was our day. I thought I had to follow my instinct. If my heart told me, I had to give her at least one over. And that was the turning point for us. When she came into the team, we talked to her that we might need 2 or 3 overs, and she said if you let me bowl, I would bowl ten overs. Credit goes. “For her, she was very positive and was there for the team. Let’s salute her.”
What do you think of Shafali Verma’s bowling?
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