All posts tagged: shafali verma world cup final

Shafali Verma: The ‘chhorri’ from Rohtak who dared to dream — and make a comeback | Cricket News

Shafali Verma: The ‘chhorri’ from Rohtak who dared to dream — and make a comeback | Cricket News

The father of Shafali Verma, the player of the Women’s World Cup final, sums up her unforgettable night in an earthy tone. It’s quite a comeback story, indeed. Not selected for the tournament, she played domestic cricket in front of untenanted stands, piled on runs, bowled more often than before, and kept training at the nets. And hoped for redemption. When it came — due to an injury to opener Pratika Rawal — Shafali stamped her presence in a historic final against South Africa with both bat (76-ball 87) and ball (two game-turning wickets). Both these performances were her best returns in One-Day Internationals, helping script a 52-run victory at Navi Mumbai’s D Y Patil Stadium as India became world champions for the first time. Story continues below this ad One person who isn’t surprised by the 21-year-old’s fierce resolve is her father, Sanjeev. Last year, Sanjeev was admitted at a hospital after a heart attack when Shafali learnt that she had been dropped from the Indian team. She didn’t tell him for a week, as she feared for his health. “It was a tough time for our family but she would not share with me that she had been dropped …

‘In a World Cup final you don’t want to lose wickets to a part-time bowler’: Laura Wolvaardt reacts to Shafali Verma’s spell | Cricket News

‘In a World Cup final you don’t want to lose wickets to a part-time bowler’: Laura Wolvaardt reacts to Shafali Verma’s spell | Cricket News

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt admitted that she did not expect Shafali Verma to bowl and have the kind of impact that she did in the Women’s ODI World Cup final on Sunday. The 21-year-old claimed figures of 2/36 in seven overs, taking the wickets of Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp to derail the Protean chase of 299 runs. Wolvaardt admitted that it was frustrating to give away those wickets to Verma and be forced to stay cautious not to add to her tally. “Yeah, didn’t really expect her to bowl much today. So a bit of a surprise factor from them. She just kind of bowled front of the hand and really slow and was able to pick up a couple of wickets. I think. Yeah. In a World Cup final you don’t want to lose wickets to a part-time bowler. But frustrating that she was able to pick up two, two big ones as well, and yeah, then almost had to own the side of caution to not give her any more wickets,” …

Days before recall to India’s World Cup squad, Shafali Verma’s father told her: ‘Your time will come… you should be ready’ | Cricket News

Days before recall to India’s World Cup squad, Shafali Verma’s father told her: ‘Your time will come… you should be ready’ | Cricket News

Sanjeev Verma recalls the conversation with her daughter Shafali Verma last year, when the opener was dropped from India’s ODI squad for the tour to Australia. “I had told her, Koi dikkat nahi, aap practice karo and apka time ayega. Bus taiyar rehna (No problem. You focus on your practice and your time will come. The only thing is that you should be ready). And when she missed making it to the Indian team for the World Cup, I repeated the same words to her.” On Sunday, as India made history by winning their first ever World Cup, beating South Africa in the final, it was Shafali who walked away with the Player of the Match award. The youngest to do so at 21 in World Cup history. When Shafali was dropped from the Indian team last year, the news had arrived just days after her father Sanjeev had suffered a heart-attack. As she told this newspaper before, she had hidden the news from her father, who did everything he could to make her a …