Shafali Verma was initially dropped from India’s Women’s World Cup squad but the opener returned as an injury replacement to star in the title win and etch her name in history.
The 21-year-old batter scored an attacking 87 and took two crucial wickets with her part-time off-spin against South Africa in Sunday’s final in Mumbai.
She was named player of the match for her all-round blitz as India won their maiden Women’s World Cup title at a packed DY Patil Stadium.
Verma has given India many blazing starts since her international debut aged just 16 but fell out of favour with the selectors in the 50-over format because of patchy form.
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However, fate had different plans and an injury to in-form opener Pratika Rawal in the last league match forced India to replace her with Verma.
Verma made just 10 in India’s stunning victory over holders Australia in the semi-finals but rose to the occasion in the title clash with her career-best ODI score.
“I said at the start that God has sent me here to do something nice, and that reflected today,” Verma said.
“It was difficult but I had confidence in myself — that if I can stay calm, I could achieve everything.”
On a day when Verma could do no wrong, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur handed her the ball in the 20th over and she delivered immediately with the wicket of Sune Luus, caught and bowled for 25.
She then got Marizanne Kapp caught behind on a ball sliding down the leg side in her next over.
“We had spoken to her that if needed she will bowl one or two overs and in reply she said, ‘I am ready to bowl 10 overs’,” Kaur revealed.
“That showed her confidence in bowling. I gave her the bowl at a crucial time and the back-to-back breakthroughs was the turning point for us.”
Next superstar
It has been a roller-coaster ride for Verma, who is from the conservative northern state of Haryana.
As a nine-year-old she played in a boys’ tournament after cutting her hair short so she could get a game.
“I told my father that I will go and play disguised as my brother (who was sick) and even had his name on my back,” Verma told AFP in 2020.
“I played and became man of the match and series.”
She also described how her father Sanjeev was cheated out of all the family’s money by an imposter who promised him a job.
Fast forward to the present, and her ODI average was modest at 22.55 before Sunday’s heroics when she surpassed her previous 50-over best score of 71 not out.
The 49-ball 50 was Verma’s first in three years, but at 21 years and 278 days she was the youngest to hit a half-century in a Women’s ODI World Cup final.
In 2019, Verma was picked for the Velocity team in the women’s T20 Challenge — a precursor to the Women’s Premier League — and walked onto the field with Indian cricket great Mithali Raj.
She shared the dressing room with international stars including England’s World Cup-winning all-rounder Danielle Wyatt, who called her the next “superstar” of Indian cricket.