Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 3 : Former England captain Nasser Hussain hailed India batter Shafali Varma's triumphant return to India's ICC Women's World Cup winning team and her all-round show in the final, pointing it how the "gamble" of a selection turned out to be good for Team India.
Shafali lived up to her words spoken in the presser before the semifinals against Australia, delivering the "good" that the "god" had sent her for in the final of the ICC Women's World Cup against Proteas, first, a record-breaking knock of 87, the highest by an Indian women's player in a WC final and then following it with a tight spell of 2/36, including wicket of experienced all-rounder Marizanne Kapp.
It was a remarkable turnaround of fortunes for Shafali, who had previously played ODIs last October before returning for the semifinals against Australia. While her international T20I form, with 176 runs in five innings with a fifty and strike rate of over 158 was solid and she had a brilliant Women's Premier League (WPL) season with Delhi Capitals (DC) this year with 304 runs in nine innings at an average of 38.00, her average in in early 20s in ODIs and inconsistency at big stages cost her the ODI spot.
Pratika Rawal, who has averaged over 50 in her ODI career and was India's second-best batter in the tournament statistically, with 308 runs in six innings, including a century and a fifty, was seen as a massive batting upgrade. But Shafali's explosiveness and "surprise factor" as a bowler bowled over the Proteas.
Speaking as quoted by Sky Sports, Naseer pointed out to Shafali's rise in T20Is as a hard-hitting batter with a "care-free" attitude at the age of 15, but how problems with short ball landed her in trouble in ODIs, paving the way for a rock-solid Pratika, who has 1,110 runs in 23 innings with two centuries and seven fifties so far.
"She started her career in an incredible way. She burst on the scene, she was smashing everyone, and she had this sort of care-free attitude that you do have as a youngster," said Hussain as quoted by Sky Sports.
"Then she got found out a little bit - especially by the short ball - opening the batting. People went at her with the short ball and, in this format, she had to be left out."
"Then Pratika Rawal had that injury and she came back in and I thought it was a bit of a gamble to actually pick her in a semi-final and then in a final, but she played brilliantly."
"She batted brilliantly, and it was a bit of genius to bowl her as well. I don't know where that came from, but they bowled her and she was outstanding. A really good selection and really good for her to come back into it and play the way that she has," he concluded.
He also said that it is great for the game to have a new World Cup winner, and the "sleeping giant that is Indian women's cricket" is truly awake.
"Every other Women's World Cup has either featured England or Australia, or both, so I think it is great for the game that we have a new winner," Hussain said.
"The sleeping giant that is Indian women's cricket is well and truly awake, and they could be an unstoppable force," he concluded.
Being put to bat first by South Africa, India posted 298/7 on the board, helped by a century partnership between Smriti Mandhana (45) and Shafali (87) and a late push from Richa Ghosh (34) and Deepti Sharma (58) towards the end. A stunning, back-to-back knockouts ton from skipper Laura Wolvaardt (101) kept Proteas in the hunt till a surprise spell from Shafali and a clutch five-wicket haul by Deepti Sharma (5/39) dismantled their middle-order, bundling out SA for 246 runs. Shafali earned the 'Player of the Match' award.