India asked South Africa to chase 299 in a damp, overcast Cape Town final and, for half the pursuit, looked short. Laura Wolvaardt was ticking, partnerships were forming and India’s frontline bowlers needed something different. Harmanpreet Kaur stared across the outfield, saw Shafali Verma loosening her arm and trusted an instinct few captains voice in a final: let the 21-year-old part-timer bowl.
Key moments first
• Shafali hit a career-best 87, then removed Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp in the space of seven balls.
• Deepti Sharma followed her 54 with 5 for 38 as South Africa lost 5 for 37.
• India, beaten by South Africa, Australia and England earlier in the league phase, lifted their maiden women’s ODI crown.
The hunch
“When Laura and Sune were batting, they were looking really good, and I just saw Shafali standing there. And the way she was batting today, I knew today’s her day,” Harmanpreet said at the presentation. “She was doing something special today, and I just thought I have to go with my gut feeling. If my heart is saying I should give at least one over to her, I’m going to give her.
“And then I just asked her, ‘can you bowl one over?’ And she was so ready, and she’s always wanted to bowl for the team. I think that was a turning point for us.”
The figures support the claim. Before the final Shafali had sent down only 14 overs across 30 ODIs for a solitary wicket. Her first delivery on Sunday was a tidy dot; her second was pushed back at her by Wolvaardt, sharp chance held. Next over, first ball, Kapp feathered a leg-side glance and the chase wobbled at 140-4.
Selection twist
Shafali was not in the original XI. She had flown in only after Pratika Rawal’s injury on the eve of the semi-finals. “When she came to the team, that time we spoke to her, ‘we might need your two or three overs’. And she was like, ‘you know, if you give me the bowling, I’m going to bowl 10 overs for the team’,” Harmanpreet recalled. “And that showed how confident she was to bowl for the team. Credit goes to her. She was so positive. Salute her, the way she was there for the team.”
Why 298 felt enough
Despite South Africa’s record 339 chase against Australia two nights earlier, India believed 298 would stretch them. This was a new surface, under thicker cloud, with final-day nerves in play. Shafali and Smriti Mandhana’s brisk 122-run stand had set the base; Deepti’s late 34-ball fifty nudged the total towards par.
Still, when Wolvaardt swept Renuka Thakur for four to reach her second successive hundred, the equation read 102 from 107 – manageable. Harmanpreet shuffled her deck, Renuka bowled out, Deepti held back. Shafali’s double strike changed the tone, the required rate climbed past seven, and Deepti mopped up the tail with dip and drift.
Balanced perspective
“We should give credit to the South Africa team. They played it beautifully. In the last moment they panicked a little bit, and that’s where we caught the game,” Harmanpreet said. “And I think we, as a group, we have been talking about, you know, once they started doing a little bit, you know, something here and there, we have to catch that. And I think that right time Deepti came and took those crucial wickets.”
Australia conquered, hoodoo lifted
India’s route was far from perfect. Consecutive group defeats to South Africa, Australia and England raised familiar doubts. The semi-final against Australia – defending champions, noisy record-holders – flipped the mood. Shafali’s late cameo, Mandhana’s composure and a nerveless penultimate over from Pooja Vastrakar knocked the favourites out and gave the group a jolt of belief they carried into the final.
Analysis, lightly worn
India’s win rested on two simpler elements than tactics: depth and trust. Batting power down to No. 8 allowed early freedom; five bowling options became six when a captain listened to a hunch. South Africa, by contrast, relied heavily on Wolvaardt, Brits and Kapp; once those three had gone, the lower order could not find boundaries off a reversing ball. The lesson is not mystical – but captains who recognise a “day” for their younger players often cash in.
India now own the one major trophy missing from their cabinet. The side was imperfect, the victory line nervy, yet that might suit a group that prefers graft to gloss. And for Shafali Verma, a batter who dreamt of winning a final with the bat, doing it with the ball proved just as sweet.
