Young batter Shafali Verma guided the Indian team to its first-ever Women’s World Cup title on Sunday.

The 21-year-old, who was added to the team as an injury replacement for Pratika Rawal ahead of the semi-finals, starred with an all-round show as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side beat South Africa by 52 runs. Shafali scored a career-best 87 off 78 balls and took the crucial scalps of Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp to turn the tide in favour of her team. She was named ‘Player of the Match’ for her exploits.

After the final, Shafali expressed joy and gratitude and credited her success to the strong support she received from her family and teammates.

“Absolutely. I said in the starting that God has sent me to do something good.

And today that was reflected. And I am very happy that we finally won the World Cup. I can’t express it in words. It was difficult but I had confidence in myself. That I will believe in myself. And if I keep myself calm, I can do anything. So that belief and that calmness and my parents had a lot of support. My parents, my friend, my brother. I think everyone had a lot of support. Everyone used to tell me how to play. And how important this final is for me, for the whole team. So today I was only thinking about how to make a run. The team should win. Yes, absolutely,” Shafali told the broadcaster’s after the match.

“My mind was clear today. And I went and worked on my plans. I am so happy that they got executed. And along with that, the team was talking to me a lot. Harman was always a supporter. And I think everyone supported me a lot. All the teammates were very welcoming and supportive. The team just opened their hearts and told me to play my game. Not to leave my game. So, I think when you get so much clarity, then you feel very happy. No, it’s a very memorable moment for me.”

Shafali revealed that she got extra motivation to perform like the way she did after spotting batting great Sachin Tendulkar in attendance for the final.

“But when I saw Sachin sir, I got a different boost. I keep talking to Sachin sir. He always gives me confidence. And I think they are legends. They are masters of cricket. But I got a lot of inspiration from them. I get a lot of inspiration when I talk to them. I got a lot of inspiration after seeing them,” she added.