"She scored a half-century in ODIs after three-and-a-half years" - Aakash Chopra lauds Shafali Verma's performance in Women's World Cup 2025 final

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Shafali Verma for her all-round match-winning performance in the Women's World Cup 2025 final. He noted that the opener was destined to do so as she wasn't even part of the Indian reserves, before coming in as an injury replacement, and hadn't scored a half-century in ODIs for almost three-and-a-half years.

Shafali smashed 87 runs off 78 deliveries as India set South Africa a 299-run target in the Women's World Cup 2025 final in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, November 2. The part-time spinner then registered figures of 2/36 in seven overs as the co-hosts bowled the Proteas women out for 246 to register a 52-run win.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener highlighted destiny's role in Shafali's 'Player of the Match' performance in the Women's World Cup 2025 final.

"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 (1:50). "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 (Shafali) wasn't being remembered," he added.

Shafali Verma, who replaced the injured Pratika Rawal as an opener before the semi-final, struck seven fours and two sixes during her 87-run knock in the summit clash. She picked up the crucial wickets of Sune Luus (25 off 31) and Marizanne Kapp (4 off 5) when South Africa were decently placed at 114/2 after 20.1 overs.

---

"She has done this throughout the tournament" - Aakash Chopra praises Deepti Sharma's performance in Women's World Cup 2025 final

Deepti Sharma struck a half-century and picked up five wickets in the Women's World Cup 2025 final. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Deepti Sharma for scoring a responsible half-century in the Women's World Cup 2025 final.

"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 (4:30).

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that the spin-bowling all-rounder picked up a five-wicket haul after bailing the team out of a spot of bother with the bat, apart from inflicting a run-out.

"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," Chopra observed.

Deepti Sharma, who was chosen as the Player of the Tournament, scored a run-a-ball 58 in the Women's World Cup 2025 final. She followed that up with figures of 5/39 in 9.3 overs to help India win their maiden global trophy.

Looking for fast live cricket scores? Download CricRocket and get fast score updates, top-notch commentary in-depth match stats & much more! 🚀☄️

Edited by Kartik Iyer