‘What God has written for you…’: Deepti Sharma’s emotional message after World Cup triumph | Cricket News

For Deepti Sharma, India’s maiden Women’s World Cup triumph at home was more than just a dream come true. As she said after the victory, it was the team’s destiny. The all-rounder, who put up remarkable performances throughout the tournament and especially in the final, said the team’s long wait for an ICC title was “scripted to happen in India”.»Deepti was at the heart of India’s 52-run win over South Africa in Sunday’s final at the DY Patil Stadium, taking five wickets for 39 runs after scoring a crucial 58 to help India post a score of 298/7. Her all-round effort earned her the Player of the Tournament award, having finished with 22 wickets and 215 runs in the competition. “I feel really good, since the day we played the first match of the World Cup, I played exactly the way I wanted to play as a senior player,” Deepti told PTI. “There can be nothing better than putting in such a good performance in the final and winning the trophy.” Reflecting on the years of heartbreak leading up to that triumph, she said: “It took us a long time to win the World Cup, but what God has written for you only happens when it’s meant to and I think it was written to happen in India. The all-rounder, who became the first male and female cricketer to score a fifty and take five wickets in a World Cup knockout match, added that playing at the DY Patil Stadium had a special meaning. “I have so many good memories of the DY Patil Stadium because we won all the series here. We were very positive as a team and whatever the result, we will play as a team,” she said. In the final, Shafali Verma top-scored with 87, while Deepti and Richa Ghosh’s late partnership pushed India close to the 300-run mark.

South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt fought hard for a century but Deepti’s five-wicket haul sealed the deal for India. As Deepti summed it up: “We wanted to win because this was happening in India and we had to win this as a team…and now that wait is over.”