Shafali Verma’s fearless batting and smart bowling changed the WWC 2025 Final for India — discover what makes her a true go-getter.
Shafali Verma’s career is a story of never giving up on your dreams, and continuing believing in miracles. She was not selected for the 2025 Women’s World Cup due to her inconsistent batting performances in this format. Meanwhile, India have unearthed a reliable opener in Pratika Rawal to partner Smriti Mandhana with.
Mandhana-Rawal had combined to put up a 212-run stand for the opening wicket in the World Cup clash against New Zealand. But a freak injury to Rawal in the next match saw India recalling Shafali to partner Mandhana for the knockout games. Shafali fell cheaply in the semis against Australia, but she reserved her best in the title round where she made a 78-ball 87 and picked up 2/36 to win the final for India. In the process, she became the youngest at 21 years to win the Player of the Match award in an ODI World Cup finals across men’s or women’s.
Read More: Women’s World Cup 2025 Final, IND vs SA: Shafali, Deepti star as India Women win their first ever WC
Shafali’s Comeback Trail: Turning Setbacks into Motivation
Before the 2025 ODI World Cup, Shafali last played an ODI in October 2024. In the six ODI games last year, Shafali averaged just 18, aggregating 108 runs with a strike rate of 82.44. She was unceremoniously dropped from this format.
However, Shafali put this disappointment behind and continued to work behind the scenes to improve her game in the 50-overs format. In the BCCI One-Day Trophy that followed her exit from the ODI format, she aggregated 527 runs, including a knock of 197 in the quarters against Bengal. She averaged 75.28 and with a strike rate of 152.31 in the competition. In the Women’s Challenger Trophy, she scored 414 runs at an average of 82.80. But it didn’t earn her a place in the World Cup squad as India seemed to have moved on from her in this format, while Rawal struck a successful pair with Mandhana.
From the Sidelines to Stardom: Shafali’s World Cup Redemption
As fate would have it, Shafali found herself walking out to open in the World Cup knockouts – a spot the team management could have easily handed to someone else but destiny had other plans for her.
Shafali brought her A game to the fore in the final of the World Cup. Her domestic success in the 50-over format preceding the World Cup helped her quickly find rhythm in the final despite a cheap dismissal in the semis.
Shafali was in her elements in the final where she played her natural attacking game, ensuring India was not overawed by the opponents or the occasion. She unleashed her trademark drives, pulls, cuts and uppish drive to pin down the South African bowling line-up. The shot of the day by her was the lofted drive over long-on for a six against Nadine de Klerk.
Her 104-run partnership with Mandhana for the opening wicket set the platform for a winning total of 298/7. Shafali scored at a strike rate of 111.53 during her knock of 87 in the final, ensuring India post a total close to 300 despite slowing down a bit in the death overs.
After receiving her Player of the Match award in the finals, Shafali said, “They (seniors) asked me just to play my own game, and when you get that clarity, that is all you need.”
Read More: Deepti Sharma proved in the WWC 2025 Final why she is India’s MVP
Shafali turns it around with the ball
However, Shafali was not done yet. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur trusted her instinct and played a gamble by throwing the ball to Shafali after India needed to break the threatening stand of 52 runs between Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus. On her second ball, Shafali got Luus to give an easy return catch back to the bowler, and India were back in the game.
But Shafali did it better by dismissing another South African batter, Marizanne Kapp, in her next over as Kapp edged a ball going down the legside to keeper. Some luck for Shafali, but she could do no wrong on this day. The twin strikes put South Africa on the backfoot straightaway and they could not recover completely and eventually lost the contest by 52 runs.
Asked why she threw the ball to Shafali who had taken just one wicket in 14 overs in 30 ODIs before, captain Harmanpreet said, “I just saw Shafali standing there, and the way she was batting, I knew it was her day. I thought I have to go with my gut feeling. If my heart was saying, I had to give her at least one over. And that was the turning point for us.”
But it was a day Shafali Verma could do no wrong as cricket has its own way of making players rewrite their comeback story, and earn their redemption in the greatest of stages. Maybe, if you ever need inspiration to rise from any failure, look no further than Shafali’s story who came back from being dropped to winning the maiden ODI World Cup for India.
Read More: How India’s win in WWC 2025 will change the landscape of cricket at home & in the world?
