Shafali Verma’s Historic Knock Powers India — New Record in World Cup Final

Indian sensation Shafali Verma delivered a record-breaking performance on Sunday, November 2, establishing the highest-ever score by an Indian opener in a World Cup final across both men’s and women’s formats — ODIs or T20Is.

She surpassed Punam Raut’s previous best of 86 from the 2017 final vs England, and Virender Sehwag’s memorable 82 in the 2003 Men’s World Cup final against Australia.

“𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 — 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆,” 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.

Even with Sourav Ganguly’s 117 from the 2000 Champions Trophy final still standing as the highest by an Indian in any ICC final, Shafali’s milestone is historic, especially considering no Indian batter had crossed 86 in a World Cup final before.

Her aggressive 87-run knock came in just 78 deliveries, striking at 111.54, decorated with 7 fours and 2 sixes — showing fearlessness rather than mere stability at the top.

A Breakout Performance on the Biggest Day

Playing only her second ODI, Shafali stepped into the squad as an emergency replacement before the semifinal — yet showed nerves of steel when it mattered the most.

Her fireworks set the tone early, while Smriti Mandhana chipped in with a vital 45, guiding India towards a massive 298/7 total in Navi Mumbai.

“𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓-𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕,” 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚.

The opening stand of 104 runs gave India a perfect platform, though momentum dipped when Jemimah Rodrigues (24) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (20) fell in quick succession.

Deepti Sharma (54) and Richa Ghosh (34) contributed a gritty partnership to keep India ahead, but South Africa clawed back late as the pitch slowed after rain. Ayabonga Khaka starred with the ball, claiming 3/58.

Mandhana ended the tournament as India’s top run scorer (434 runs), rounding off a brilliant campaign.

Highest Scores by Indian Openers in World Cup Finals (Men & Women)