God sent me to do something special, says Shefali Verma

India’s young opener Shafali Verma said she believed God sent her to do something special after guiding India to its maiden ICC Women’s World Cup title. Deepti Sharma, Player of the Tournament, called the win a dream come true for the team.

HYDERABAD: Shafali Verma who joined the Indian team from the semifinal stage and came up with a stunning player of the final performance, reiterated that God had sent her to do something special and that reflected in the final against South Africa as India won its first ICC Women’s World Cup at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai past midnight on Sunday.

“I’m very happy that we’ve won the World Cup. I can’t express it in words. It was tough (to join the team midway) but I was confident that if I keep self belief and stayed calm, then I can do anything. My parents, friends and my brother supported me immensely,” the young explosive opener said in the post-match comments.

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“Today, I was thinking that I need to make runs anyhow and that the team needed to win. My mind was quite clear and I batted according to my plans. I was happy they got executed. Smriti di was talking to me continuously, Harman di is always a supporter. Team-mates also supported me, they were very welcoming too,” Shafali said.

“The seniors just said to play my natural game, not to move away from my natural game. [Sachin Tendulkar watching from the stands] It is a very memorable moment for me. When I saw Sachin sir, I got a special kind of boost. I speak to him occasionally, he gives me a boost. Today also I got inspired just by seeing him,” she said.

For her part, Deepti Sharma, who had become the first cricketer to score a half-century and take five wickets in a World Cup final and was adjudged “Player of the Tournament’ in this World Cup. said that honestly it felt still like a dream.

“We have not yet got rid of our emotions. I am so happy to contribute in a World Cup final. I feel really glad,” said the unassuming all-rounder.

“We just wanted to take the positive takeaways from every match. On the fans, I will say, they have come in huge numbers. I want to thank the fans, they have supported us in every match. This was not possible without them. As a team, we feel great after this result. I just want to enjoy every department. I like challenges. I had the bat and ball in my hand. I just had to play according to the situation, and I enjoyed it a lot. What better a moment, on this stage, to perform as an allrounder for the team… can’t get better than this,” Deepthi said.

On South African captain Laura Wolvaardt, Deepthi said she thought Laura played a very good innings. “We were not relaxed. We were very calm, kept on cheering everyone up during the drinks break. As a bowling unit, we wanted to take it till the last ball. We just wanted to focus on our best balls. and we did that. [On the changes she wants to see] There has been a lot of change after 2017 and I hope we get more matches. So that will be great,” she revealed.