New Delhi, Nov 8 Australia’s former captain Meg Lanning said she was not surprised by Shafali Verma’s explosive performance in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup final, saying she realised the youngster was unstoppable while playing vertical bat shots with her usual flair.
Shafali replaced the injured Pratika Rawal just ahead of the semi-final against Australia, and seized her opportunity with a match-winning performance in the final against South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium on November 2.
Opening the innings alongside Smriti Mandhana, she smashed 87 off 78 balls to help India post a formidable 298. She then struck twice in her first seven deliveries to remove Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp to derail South Africa’s chase. The all-round effort proved to be decisive in India’s 52-run victory to win the ODI World Cup for the first time.
“I wasn't surprised by the way she (Shafali) played at all. I think she's been very successful over a few years now playing an aggressive style of cricket and looking to hit the ball really hard straight down the ground.”
“I watched a bit of her innings in the final and I could see very early on that she was trying to target the side screen down the ground and look to play with that vertical bat and when she does that it's pretty hard to stop,” said Meg, who opened with Shafali for Delhi Capitals in three seasons of WPL, on The ICC Review show.
She also lauded Player of the Tournament, all-rounder Deepti Sharma’s ability to thrive at different points in a match. “She (Deepti Sharma) is able to really impact games now with both bat and ball. And I think the other really good thing for the Indian team is that it can be at different points in the innings.”
“There's no really set way that she can be successful. It can be across the whole game. To have someone like that in your side who can perform under pressure and at any point in the game, you know, she's shown that she can do that pretty consistently. So, no doubt, (she) has become a very important player for India,” added Meg.
She signed off by hailing Jemimah Rodrigues’ ability to stay calm and composed in the high-pressure game while hitting an unbeaten 127 in the record chase of 339 against Australia in the semi-final.
“I wanted Australia to win that game, to see Jemi perform like she did was really impressive, under a lot of pressure, for a number of different reasons. But to be able to, on that stage, hold your nerve and guide the team home, not just get to the 100 and then leave it to other players. She took that responsibility and made sure she was there at the end,” concluded Meg.
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