Shafali Verma scored a brilliant 87 in the Women’s World Cup 2025 Final but was dismissed soon after R Ashwin’s tweet wishing for her ton. Fans jokingly trolled Ashwin for ‘jinxing’ her, though her knock helped India post 298/7 against South Africa.
Team India opener Shafali Verma has delivered one of her best performances in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 Final against South Africa at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, November 2.
Shafali Verma played a brilliant innings of 87 off 78 balls and formed an opening 104-run partnership with Smriti Mandhana (45) as Team India posted a total of 298/7 on the board and set a 299-run target for South Africa to chase in the high-stakes battle for the coveted trophy. The late surge by Deepti Sharma (58) and Richa Ghosh (34) through their 47-run stand for the sixth wicket was instrumental in propelling India to a strong finish, ensuring the hosts maintained momentum heading into the innings break of the World Cup final.
India showcased a dominant batting display with contributions across the top and middle order, leaving the Proteas with a challenging chase under pressure in front of a roaring Navi Mumbai crowd.
R Ashwin’s Century Hope for Shafali Verma Backfires
Shafali Verma’s performance with the bat has garnered widespread acclaim, especially from former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. As soon as Shafali completed his fifth ODI fifty, Ashwin was hoping for a century from the young opener to put the final on ‘track’ with the Men’s ODI World Cup 2003
Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter), the 39-year-old referenced former Australia captain Ricky Ponting’s century knock in the 2003 Men’s World Cup final, suggesting that a similar big innings from Shafali could have defined the contest.
“A big hundred from Shefali will put this final on track with the 2003 men’s World Cup final,” Ashwin wrote on X.
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However, Ravichandran Ashwin’s tweet appeared to have backfired almost instantly, as moments later, Shafali Verma was dismissed for 87, narrowly missing out on what could have been a historic century in the World Cup final.
Though Shafali Verma fell short of a well-deserved century, the 21-year-old shattered several records, including the youngest to score fifty, and the highest individual score by an Indian batter in the Women’s World Cup Final, and completed 1000 runs in partnership with Smriti Mandhana, becoming the 11th Indian pair to do so in the history of Women’s ODI cricket.
Ashwin Trolled for ‘Jinxing’ Shefali Verma
Ravichandran Ashwin’s tweet went viral on social media after he was dismissed shortly afterward, with fans humorously blaming the veteran spinner for “jinxing” her century. A section of Indian cricket fans called him ‘Panauti’ for praising Shafali too early, as his tweet caused her bad luck and cost her a well-deserved century.
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Team India is playing their third World Cup Final after previously reaching the summit clash in 2005 and 2017. While the Women in Blue fell short of holding the coveted trophy on both occasions, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will be determined to script a history and end the long-awaited dream of winning the prestigious title.