When Harmanpreet Kaur dropped Alyssa Healy two nights ago, Shafali Verma knew from experience it would haunt, and quickly ran up to offer her captain a consolatory pat. At 21, she leads her domestic team with maturity beyond her years, understanding the power of these quiet assurances not in the least because she has lived it firsthand through Harmanpreet's unwavering belief.

Verma, already an ICC title-winning captain, had missed the bus to a home World Cup until a cruel twist of fate opened the backdoor to what is a lifelong dream for many, with one, maybe two, shots at redemption. Verma stormed through it to own the stage on arguably the biggest night in Indian women's cricket history.

All about her walk to the crease was vintage Shafali Verma - a quick drop to touch the ground with her dominant hand before crossing over, sending a silent manifestation out into the universe. She strides in twirling the bat to get those muscled arms warmed-up. A quick fist-bump with Smriti Mandhana by the crease to decide who takes first strike - it was her in the semifinal, and the vice-captain on the night of the final. At her turn, she marks the middle-stump guard before a quick 360-peek to scan the field.

Everything that point onwards was also classic Shafali Verma, but with a tempering of maturity. With the two-hour rain delay, batting first wasn't going to be the easiest given the early movement on offer. To nearly every ball from the experienced South African new-ball pace duo Verma kept advancing down the track to counter potential inswing. Against Ayabonga Khaka, the opener took a couple of steps down the track to uppishly punch the pitched up delivery through the gap at point for a boundary that was India's first runs in the final. In the following over from the pacer, Verma put on display her effortless wristwork in whipping up another first-ball boundary behind square.

Against Marizanne Kapp - a Delhi Capitals teammate she's faced up frequently and improved against in nets - that shimmy down the track was even more authoritative. After nailing that cover drive, she held the pose for the cameras with trademark swag. This constant use of the feet kept disrupting the bowlers' early rhythm, negating any advantage conditions or Harmanpreet's rotten luck with tosses had afforded the opposition under overcast skies. The 'keeper came up to the stumps to keep her in check, but Verma didn't have to step out this time. Kapp, fresh off a career-best fifer in the semifinal, erred in line and Verma neatly flicked this one on the pads through midwicket for four more.

At 21 off 12, Verma had provided the same berserk start that had made her a teenage sensation all those years ago. But a year away has taught her the importance of dominating minus the layer of underlying risks in the process. She brought up the fifty partnership by the seventh over, forcing South Africa to resort to the left-arm spin tactic. Nonkululeko Mlaba kicked off with a freebie, and Verma was quick to pounce with another textbook cover drive. To those who missed the photo-op previous time, she offered another chance - a beautifully timed lofted six down the ground to unsettle every bowling change Laura Wolvaardt could come up with.

The crowd was still reeling from the loss of Mandhana's wicket, but still stood up in applause as the comeback woman raised her first fifty in three years when the stakes could not have been higher. Jemimah Rodrigues, another advocate of a strong support system, giggled more than Verma through the congratulatory head-pats and the fist-bumps. There was a reprieve in the deep off a miscued slogsweep, but she shook off the disappointment quickly and used her strong hands the next time to sweetly whip one to deep midwicket.

While it was the busy Rodrigues who pushed the cramping opener to run more singles against a miserly Sune Luus, Verma sent the offspinner out of the attack with a shimmy down and a lofted six straight over the bowler's head. She missed out on a free-hit from Khaka, but then picked the bones out of a slower one to close the over on a high anyway. Her knock, and probably patience, ended at 87 in typical fashion but the fun, while it lasted, set India up for a winning total. More importantly, her 87 didn't feel like a typical bonus a high-risk, high-reward player might rack up. It was a showcase of a steadier, more matured approach with controlled aggression. Verma would perhaps be forgiven for not converting, having done her part by not just negotiating the new ball but also taking on the left-arm spin threat that India's undoing in the league stages.

The wait for that maiden ODI century will continue, but Verma wasn't done for the night. On a hunch, Harmanpreet backed another instinct based off what Verma had confidently assured the management of in their first meeting in Navi Mumbai earlier this week.

"We were missing the overs from Pratika [Rawal]. So, when Shafali came in [as Rawal's injury replacement], we saw that she was bowling a lot of overs in domestic cricket. Sir and I spoke to her about [her being our sixth bowling option], and Shafali said, 'sir, I'm ready for 10 overs.' That shows how confident she was to bowl," Harmanpreet said after leading India to their maiden ICC title. .

The signs of a potential bowling cameo had been there all along. From her very first practice session back with the squad, quick chats with coach Aavishkar Salvi were punctuated by a couple of overs each to Mandhana and Deepti Sharma in the open nets. The opportunity could easily have come against Australia too, hinted at by her usual warm-up stretches lying on the outfield on being hinted she could be next. Against South Africa in the final, the captain knew it could go either way, but she wasn't going to leave the stadium with a "what if."

"Today, when that partnership started in the middle, suddenly I got the thought that I should give Shafali a try to see what happens. It was purely a gut feeling. I thought it could be risky too, but at the same time, I was positive because Shafali had shown confidence when we spoke to her. I didn't want to go back to the hotel room later thinking, 'Why didn't I try?' because they were looking good. And when I gave her that over and she got back-to-back breakthroughs, that was the turning point for us."

Verma had eight wickets in the Sr. Women's One-Day Trophy 2024-25 and then eight more in the Sr. Women's T20 League that was underway when she was summoned. In tournaments she had been leading, and been the leading run-scorer, Verma was also consistently proving herself as an improved allrounder to stake her claim back in the national side.

When Harmanpreet threw the ball to Verma in front of a packed DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, Laura Wolvaardt and Luus were in the middle of a flowing half-century stand at run-a-ball. Verma repaid the faith with just her second delivery, in what was just her sixth time bowling in ODIs and first-ever at a World Cup final. Luus, eager to work it fine, ended up rather tamely chipping a low catch back to the bowler who gobbled it up safely.

This was also not it. Kapp got a harmless length delivery down leg next over, but it turned in on her as she edged to the 'keeper. South African dugout was a picture of disbelief; Kapp distraught on her way back. It wasn't even the best of deliveries she bowled that night, but Shafali Verma could do no wrong.

India's biggest gamble had paid off. Verma immediately ran to her skipper on both occasions, wrapping her tightly around at waist for a celebration that spoke volumes about her steadfast support.

Interestingly enough, it was in line with the flipping-the-narrative theme of the knockouts this World Cup. In their earlier meeting, it was an unlikely 10-over spell from left-arm spinner Chloe Tryon had left India in a tangle. On the night final, a seemingly unlikely bowling option turned the tables on them.

Called in at the time of crisis, for Verma it was supposed to be just another cameo with the bat and with the ball. The fire still burned within, but in a year away she had learned to let it breathe. On cricket's grandest stage, with her final chance to prove it, Verma produced a performance that spoke of her growth, and the beauty of second chances.