After falling short twice, India finally got their hands on the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup trophy after logging a 52-run win over South Africa at DY Patil Stadium.

The evening belonged to Haryana’s Shafali Verma, who entered the tournament unexpectedly. She posted a 78-ball 87 to help India post 298, and took two crucial wickets to give India a major breakthrough. South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt (101 off 98 balls) remained the sole warrior for the side as the Proteas were bundled out at 246.

It was last November when Shafali was dropped from the team’s tour to Australia. She had to hide the news for almost a week from her father Sanjeev Verma, who had suffered a heart attack just two days before the announcement. Today, she anchored the Indian innings. After top-scoring for India, h

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