WC: Shafali strikes gold with game-changing 2/36!

• Shafali Verma shined with both bat & ball in CWC final vs South Africa.
• Verma dismissed Luus & Kapp, halting Proteas' chase of 299.
• Deepti Sharma took Jafta's wicket; SA now 173/5 needing Wolvaardt support.

Following a sensational batting performance against South Africa in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2025 final in Navi Mumbai, Shafali Verma has done a phenomenal job with the ball as well. With

the thriving partnership between Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus for the third wicket, South Africa were looking to build pressure on the hosts at the DY Patil Stadium in pursuit of the 299-run target.

When both succeeded in building a 52-run stand off 51 balls, Shafali, who was brought into the attack by Indiacaptain Harmanpreet Kaur, stepped up and got rid of Luus. The middle-order Protea batter gave a simple catch to the bowler and returned to the pavilion with her 25 off 31.

Watch the video here:

After Shafali’s magnificent opening over, Harmanpreet gave her the chance to bowl another over. This time, she got Marizanne Kapp caught by wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh. The spinner pushed Kapp towards the wide leg-side. Instead of leaving the ball, Marizanne attempted to play a shot which led to her dismissal.

Deepti Sharma got the better of Sinalo Jafta in World Cup final

After Luus’ departure, South Africa’s innings has stumbled as they have lost Sinalo Jafta at the hands of Deepti Sharma. In the crunch situation, Jafta’s job was to support her skipper Wolvaardt but she looked nervous and eventually lost her wicket while playing a shot towards the short mid-wicket. Radha Yadav grabbed the catch and assisted Deepti to get her first wicket in the match.

South Africa are in some trouble in the match as their half of the side is in the dugout now. Wolvaardt requires an ally who could stand with her and take the game deep. As of this writing, South Africa are 173/5 in 32 overs with Wolvaardt (80* off 77) and Annerie Dercksen (18* off 10) at the crease.