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Shafali, Deepti the stars as India crowned World Cup champs
India beat South Africa by 52 runs in an exciting final to lift the Women’s ODI World Cup, their first ICC trophy
MUMBAI: With the entire stadium’s eyes fixed on her, Amanjot Kaur ran to her left to get her hands under the skier by Laura Wolvaardt off the first ball of the 42nd over. In a heart-stopping moment for the 45,000 home fans at the DY Patil Stadium, the ball popped out of Amanjot’s palms on the first attempt, and the second attempt, but the India allrounder kept her eyes on the ball and plucked it the third time, taking the most important catch of the game, ending the South Africa captain’s valiant innings.
Kapil Dev’s running catch off Viv Richards in the 1983 World Cup final is still spoken about, and given the importance of Amanjot’s effort in the Women’s ODI World Cup final, it will also become part of the cricketing folklore.
India avoided the spectacular to play percentage cricket to trump South Africa, creating history with their first World Cup triumph. They backed a batting performance of controlled aggression with a fine all-round bowling show for a convincing 52-run win at the packed Navi Mumbai Stadium on Sunday.
With South Africa needing 79 runs from 54 balls and Wolvaardt (101) in the zone and playing a great anchor role – she hit a sensational 169 in the semis – everyone at the DY Patil Stadium were on the edge of their seats. India had done well to get to a total of 298/7 but the SA opener had taken the chase to the hosts with the fighting century off 96 balls.
But off the first ball of the next over, seasoned off-spinner Deepti Sharma gave the ball air and Wolvaardt fell into the trap, misjudging the bounce while going for a mighty heave to sky to deep mid-wicket. The fall of their captain at 220, with 79 more needed, doused SA’s resistance.
With Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma present in the stands, Harmanpreet Kaur’s team played with composure, never letting the pressure of a home final get to them. In the end, they gave the record crowd which had braved a two-hour delayed start due to rains memories of a lifetime.
Asked to bat first, Shafali Verma rose to the occasion. Drafted in as injury replacement for Pratika Rawal, she made her comeback count with a 78-ball 87 to set the foundation in a 104-run opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana.
It was a day when Shafali could do no wrong. Thrown the ball by Harman, she derailed the SA chase with a double strike. When SA were rebuilding through a third wicket stand of 52 off 51 balls between Wolvaardt and Sune Luus, she got Luus caught and bowled. In the next over, she got the big scalp of Marizanne Kapp.
The stars of the semis, Jemimah Rodrigues and Harman couldn’t repeat their heroics, but Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh ensured India didn’t waste the good work of their openers with innings of 58 (58b) and 34 (24b) respectively. Deepti took charge running through the SA innings, taking five of the last six wickets, the other dismissal being a run out. She finished with 5/39.
For South Africa, Wolvaardt was a one-woman army. As wickets fell at the other end, she refused to throw in the towel. SA were very much in the hunt with 149 needed from the last 20 overs, but they had lost half their side.
The captain needed support. Annerie Dercksen at No.7 came and hit Radha Yadav for two sixes in the 32nd over to take the total to 183/5 at the 35-over mark. With Woolvaardt on 86, tension grew in the stands.
The next over, Deepti dropped a straight forward catch of Dercksen off Renuka. But Deepti yorked her to end the 61-run seventh wicket stand. With 90 needed from 63 balls, Wolvaardt on 100 and SA’s depth in batting, the game seemed to be on balance, but Deepti made amends.
Shafali sizzles
But the story of the final was Shafali. The 21-year-old was quick out of the blocks to provide India a dream start, ensuring the team didn’t feel the absence of the in-form Pratika, who was ruled out due to an injury. After Kapp started with a maiden to Mandhana, Shafali advanced to the first ball she faced off Ayabonga Khaka to drive the ball between point and cover point to get the crowd into the mood early. Next over, when Khaka strayed on to the pads, she was flicked for another boundary.
With the India opener looking to advance to convert the length, SA keeper Sinalo Jafta came forward to stand up to the stumps, but it had little effect on Shafali. She continued to play her strokes, picking successive fours off Kapp with a cover drive and a flick, in the fifth over of the innings. She completed her 50 off 49 balls. Pacer Nadine de Klerk and spinner Luus were effortlessly hit down the ground for sixes before falling to a tired shot, caught at mid-off off Khaka.
While Shafali took on the bowlers early, Smriti controlled her attacking instincts on the way to a 56-ball 44 (8x4). Just when she looked to accelerate, Smriti was caught behind trying to cut spinner Chloe Tryon.
Put into bat, the hosts were mainly focussed on negating the threat of Kapp. The South African new ball bowler had run through the England side in the semi-finals with a fifer, but did not get any early seam movement and eventually could not make an impression on the India batters. In the final, she returned figures of 10-1-59-0.
