“She scored a half-century in ODIs after three-and-a-half years” - Aakash Chopra hails Shafali Verma for her all-round show in the final

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on the Indian opening batter Shafali Verma, who came in as a replacement batter for Pratika Rawal, who injured her ankle and got ruled out of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 ahead of the semi-final.

Notably, Shafali played a crucial role with the bat and ball in the grand finale, scoring 87 runs after India lost the toss. Later, she scalped two important wickets to change the game’s complexion in the second innings. Shafali emerged as the player of the match in the final for her all-round heroics. 

"When we came to bat, the Player of the Match came, the one who had something written in her destiny. That's Shafali Verma. She wasn't selected in the team. She wasn't even in the standbys. If someone's name is not there in the team and the standbys, what are their chances of playing, but she played," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"She batted tremendously and also picked up two wickets, and those were the crucial wickets. It was written somewhere above. She scored a half-century in ODIs after three-and-a-half years. She wasn't even part of the team for the last one year, and when Pratika Rawal was playing, she was playing so well that she wasn't being remembered," he added.

Furthermore, Chopra also hailed the veteran Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who scored 58 runs in the grand finale and also scalped a five-wicket haul to script India a 52-run win and clinch the silverware. Notably, she was also adjudged the player of the tournament for her all-round heroics. 

"Deepti Sharma came and played at a run-a-ball. I felt Deepti could have played a little faster, but Deepti did whatever Deepti does. Deepti absorbed the pressure. She has done this throughout the tournament. She started and ended the tournament with a half-century," he said.

"India were struggling then and here also they got stuck once in the middle, but Deepti was there. She picked up a five-wicket haul. First woman to do that in a World Cup final, someone who picked up five wickets and scored a half-century as well. She also had a throw, and this is how Deepti started," he concluded.

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