Pratika Rawal could not stop smiling through her tears as India lifted their first-ever ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup trophy at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday night. The 24-year-old opener, ruled out of the tournament after suffering an ankle injury in the final group-stage match against Bangladesh, was there to celebrate with her teammates — in her wheelchair, wrapped in the Indian flag. It was a bittersweet night for Pratika, who had been in sensational form before her injury. She finished as India’s second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 308 runs, including a century and a fifty, playing a key role in India’s journey to the final. Her absence was deeply felt, but in a beautiful twist of fate, her replacement Shafali Verma emerged as the hero of the final, smashing 87 runs to

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