India brushed aside South Africa in Mumbai last night to win the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in a clinical and determined performance. The Indian Girls, all in blue, were crowned World Champions, bringing great pride to our country.
India batted first and put up a fine display to amass a highly competitive 298/7. Shafali Verma, drafted into the side after an injury to regular opener Pratika Rawal, smashed a belligerent 87 of 78 balls and, along with Deepti Sharma ( 58 of 58 balls), made a critical contribution to India’s cause in the final.
Deepti Sharma, playing a fine hand, stitched a few good partnerships with the tail to help India reach a formidable total.
With the scoreboard pressure looming large on the Proteas in the all-important final, the South Africans wilted under pressure as India tightened up the screws with regular wickets and tight fielding. Barring skipper Laura Wolvaardt’s sensational 101 runs, none of the South African batters survived enough to give themselves a chance of beating the target set by India.
Deepti Sharma bowled brilliantly to scalp 5 South African wickets in an amazing spell of bowling. Her all-around performance, right through the tournament, would go down as one of the highlights of India’s terrific campaign in the World Cup.
Eventually, India romped home with a good 52 runs in the bag. Shafali Verma was declared the Player of the Match, while the brilliant Deepti Sharma was named the Player of the World Cup. The win triggered massive celebrations across the country. People came out on the streets to celebrate and let go of crackers in a deafening but still pleasing cacophony.
The Indian Girls had a tough tournament to begin with, losing to South Africa, Australia and England, but put up a tremendous rearguard action to qualify for the semis, post which they played some phenomenal cricket. First, they dumped the mighty Australians, with Jemimah Rodrigues playing one of India’s finest innings in the semi-finals ( could well be the finest) and then getting the better of the South Africans in a pulsating Final encounter.
What a victory it has been for India’s Girls, and no wonder the Girls in Blue are set to inspire another generation of belligerent, tenacious and determined cricketers, both boys and girls.
Kudos to India’s ‘ Girl Power ‘.
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