By Admin 
Two weeks since producing the performance that has given Indian women’s cricket its epoch-defining moment, Shafali Verma is letting the tag of world champion gradually sink in.
In the ODI Women’s World Cup final against South Africa at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on November 2, the 21-year-old opener smashed 87 and took two key wickets with her part-time spin to help clinch a storied 52-run win. It was a remarkable turn of events for someone who had been viewing India’s World Cup campaign from a distance until Pratika Rawal’s ill-fated ankle injury in the final game of the round-robin stage against Bangladesh.
“It is very special to be world champion. It is sinking in slowly and steadily,” Shafali, who was brought in ahead of the semifinals as an injury replacement for Pratikal, told The Hindu in a virtual interaction organised by JSW Sports on Saturday.
“When I had started playing cricket, I had done so with the aim of winning the World Cup one day. Now that we have achieved it, we have to make a habit of this. We have to keep winning.”
Before making a comeback against Australia in the last-four stage, the player from Rohtak had been out of India’s one-day set-up for a year due to indifferent form. The time away allowed Shafali to work on her shortcomings.
“I have worked a lot on my mind. As a batter, if you are mentally strong, you win 90% of the matches. Physically too, I have worked a lot on my body,” she elaborated. “In the final, I was trying to play the ball along the ground as much as possible. That was something I have been trying to work on for the past one year. I can pat myself on the back and tell myself I have done well. But I don’t want to stop. I have to keep going.”