Smriti Mandhana's Heartwarming Reaction to Shafali Verma's Brilliant 87 Off 78 During Women's WC Final vs SA; Pic Goes Viral

Ind-W vs SA-W: Midway through the campaign, India opener Smriti Mandhana had lost her regular partner at the top, Pratika Rawal. The latter picked up an injury and was ruled out of the tournament which meant Shafali Verma was drafted in for the last two games - the semis and the final. In the semi-final, Shafali did not get going as she perished for a low score versus Australia. But, come the final, Shafali was all ready. 

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VIRAL PIC

After stitching a brilliant 104-run stand with Mandhana, Shafali continued on and hit 87 off 78 balls. She fells 13 runs short of what would have been a historic century. She had missed out on a well-deserved hundred and was dejected while walking back to the pavilion. But that is where she saw, Mandhana right in front of her lauding her effort in the summit clash on Sunday at the DY Patil stadium. 

Ayabonga Khaka picked up the crucial wicket of Shafali. It was a timely wicket for South Africa as Shafali was in the groove to take it absolutely away from them. Her wicket has now brought some respite as the runs have dried up to some extent. 

At the time of filing the copy, India are 186 for three in 33.1 overs. Deepti Sharma has just joined her captain Harmanpreet. 

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India's Blueprint Ahead

Given the current situation of the match, India would not be happy with anything less than 300. They are in a good position to go past the 300-run mark and that is bound to put pressure on South Africa. But for India to get there, a lot will depend on Harmanpreet and the rest to follow. Mind you, SA are a team in good form and they would fancy themselves chasing down anything in that range.