Navi Mumbai: South Africa’s captain, Laura Wolvaardt, openly admitted that Shafali Verma’s unexpected part-time off-spin was a significant “surprise factor” in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup final. Verma, India’s opener, astonishingly claimed two crucial wickets while conceding only 36 runs, a performance that decisively swung the match in India’s favor at the DY Patil Stadium.
Wolvaardt, who delivered a magnificent solo effort by scoring 101 runs off just 98 balls in the championship game—where her team ultimately lost by 52 runs to India, who secured their first-ever World Cup title—expressed her “frustration” at losing two vital wickets to Shafali, especially after Verma had earlier played an outstanding innings of 87 runs off 78 balls.
Before the final, Shafali had bowled only 14 overs and taken a solitary wicket across 30 ODIs. Yet, in this high-stakes match, it took her just two deliveries to break a dangerous 52-run partnership between Wolvaardt and Sune Luus in the 21st over with a sharp return catch. She followed this up by claiming another major wicket with the very first ball of her next over, as Marizanne Kapp was caught down the leg side.
“We certainly didn’t anticipate her bowling much today, so it was quite a surprise tactic from their side,” Wolvaardt explained in the post-final press conference. “She bowled with a simple front-of-hand action, very slowly, and managed to pick up a couple of wickets. In a World Cup final, you really don’t want to give away wickets to a part-time bowler. It was frustrating because she took two – two significant ones, too – and then we had to play cautiously to avoid losing any more. She bowled surprisingly well, which was indeed frustrating, as she wasn’t someone we had extensively strategized for. But credit to her; she performed admirably.”
India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, revealed that she acted on a “gut feeling” when she handed the ball to Shafali, noting that South Africa’s run chase of 299 was progressing steadily at that point in the World Cup final.
“Laura and Sune were batting brilliantly, looking very comfortable, and I just happened to see Shafali there. Given her batting performance earlier today, I sensed it was her moment to do something special,” Harmanpreet stated during the presentation ceremony. “I decided to trust my intuition. My heart told me to give her at least one over, and I went with it. When I asked her, ‘Can you bowl an over?’, she was completely ready – she always wants to contribute to the team with the ball. I truly believe that was a pivotal turning point for us.”
Shafali had joined India’s squad just before the semi-finals after an injury ruled opener Pratika Rawal out of the tournament during India’s final league-stage match. “When she joined the team, we told her there might be a need for two or three overs from her. And she responded, ‘If you give me the ball, I’ll bowl all 10 overs for the team.’ That demonstrated her immense confidence. Full credit to her. She was incredibly positive. A salute to her for stepping up for the team the way she did,” Harmanpreet added.
Despite her team suffering its third consecutive World Cup final defeat, the South African captain expressed her belief that the team is continuously evolving, and that an elusive ICC trophy will eventually be theirs if they maintain their high-level performance.
The Proteas had previously finished as runners-up in the Women’s T20 World Cups in both 2023 and 2024, falling to Australia and then New Zealand, respectively.
Ultimately, hosts India secured their first-ever ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title with a dominant victory over South Africa in the final match.
Reflecting on her side’s progress since their inaugural major final on home soil in 2023, Wolvaardt remarked, “After that first final (2023 T20 World Cup) at Newlands, we saw the introduction of domestic contracts, which has been incredibly beneficial for our team’s depth. The subsequent final (2024) helped us establish a stronger presence in cricket. We’re now consistently making it to finals, whereas before it might have been seen as a one-off achievement. I am genuinely proud that we’ve reached three finals in a row — it clearly shows we’re doing things right, both domestically and as a squad, in terms of consistency.”
She concluded, “Hopefully, we can continue to reach finals, and one day, we will finally win one.”
Wolvaardt’s outstanding consistency at the top of South Africa’s batting order was a primary driver of the Proteas’ impressive World Cup run. The 26-year-old had a record-breaking campaign, accumulating a remarkable 571 runs in nine innings at an exceptional average of 71.37, including two centuries and three half-centuries. This performance shattered Australia’s Alyssa Healy’s record for the most runs scored in a single edition of the tournament. Additionally, she matched Healy’s rare achievement of scoring centuries in both the semi-final (169 against South Africa) and the final (101 against India).
“I believe my ODI cricket has advanced significantly during this tournament. To win matches, you need to be positive and aggressive, and I’ve made a conscious effort to explore that approach. It hasn’t been my best year in ODI cricket previously; I was perhaps too conservative and predictable. So, I’m truly pleased with the diverse options I managed to incorporate throughout this tournament. Today, I found a lot of leg-side boundaries, which is something I’ve actively worked on to create scoring opportunities in different areas.”
The South African captain emphasized that her team had numerous positive takeaways from the tournament.
“I think it’s been a fantastic campaign for us – reaching the final is a truly amazing accomplishment. I believe we’ll still reflect on this tournament with a great deal of positivity. We played some exceptionally good cricket throughout. At one point, we achieved five consecutive wins, which is a significant milestone for our team. We are consistently striving for that level of performance, which isn’t always present in bilateral series. So, I’m incredibly proud that we’ve demonstrated our ability to perform in major tournaments,” she concluded.