World Cup Triumph - A tale of Sharma and Verma

I wanted to start off this blog by sharing a beautiful piece on Cricinfo about the redemption arc of Deepti Sharma. If it was South Africa who denied us a place in the semifinals four years ago we paid them back in kind by lifting the world cup trophy. This however was not a resounding performance by any means, there were concentration lapses, nerves and also moments where the pendulum genuinely swung the other way.  Here are some prime examples:

• Radha Yadav's gigantic no-ball which brought down the target by 13 runs (two consecutive sixes of the no-ball and the free hit) in just one ball
• Deepti dropping a straight forward chance at midwicket of Dercksen 
• Jemimah Rodrigues shelling a sitter of the dangerous looking Nadine de Klerk
• Shree Charani's final over jitters as she offered 10 runs (5w, 1w and 4) on a platter to de Klerk 

But we still won chiefly due to the tandem of Deepti's guile and Shafali's guts. Deepti more than made up for her drop by knocking over Dercksen with a yorker and also contributed to Khaka's runout with a well timed throw. If that wasn't enough she prized out wickets of Jafta, Wolvaardt, Tryon and de Klerk to leave an indelible stamp on the final with her all-round prowess. 

Indian team celebrates after the last wicket falls <Courtesy: Disney Hotstar>

As a layman I will never be able to figure out the argument that went into Shafali Verma's selection (once Pratika Rawal was injured) despite a batting average of around 17 in the last two seasons. But I have to admit, what Shafali did in the final was nothing short of magical. Her swashbuckling strokes took the pressure off Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur and then she also turned up in the bowling department to make vital inroads into the opposition just when they looked like picking up some momentum.  

They were ably supported by Smriti Mandhana's rock steady opening act, Richa Ghosh's late stage heroics, Renuka Singh's measured spell, Sree Charani's craft and Amanjot Kaur's memorable fielding display.  Finally, unlike the past finals, enough players raised their game on the big day to see India across the finishing line.  

South Africa Fall of Wickets

Would the result have been any different had South Africa promoted Dercksen or de Klerk over Jafta? Jafta's time at the crease shot up the required run rate and also affected the fluency of Wolvaardt who didn't get to face too many deliveries. Once Jafta fell, South Africa were always behind the 8 ball and more importantly they got India to believe. That belief brought the cup home my friends.

Until Next Time,

Your sports raconteur.