India captain Harmanpreet Kaur had a gut feeling it was Shafali Verma's day when she threw the ball to the opener with South Africa ticking along in their run chase of 299 in the World Cup final.
Shafali, who made a career-best 87 with the bat earlier, responded by delivering two key breakthroughs to help India win their maiden World Cup title.
Shafali had bowled just 14 overs for a single wicket in 30 ODIs coming into the match, but it took her just two balls to end a 52-run stand between South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus in the 21st over with a sharp return catch. And with the first ball of her second over, she got another big wicket as Marizanne Kapp was strangled down leg.
"When Laura and Sune were batting, they were looking really good, and I just saw Shafali standing there. And the way she was batting today, I knew today's her day," Harmanpreet said at the presentation ceremony. "She was doing something special today, and I just thought I have to go with my gut feeling. If my heart is saying I should give at least one over to her, I'm going to give her.
"And then I just asked her, 'can you bowl one over?' And she was so ready, and she's always wanted to bowl for the team. I think that was a turning point for us."
Shafali only came into India's squad before the semi-finals after opener Pratika Rawal suffered an injury during their final league-stage match that ruled her out of the tournament.
"When she came to the team, that time we spoke to her, 'we might need your two or three overs'. And she was like, 'you know, if you give me the bowling, I'm going to bowl 10 overs for the team,'" Harmanpreet said. "And that showed how confident she was to bowl for the team. Credit goes to her. She was so positive. Salute her, the way she was there for the team."
Despite having pulled off a record chase of 339 at the same venue in their semi-final against Australia, Harmanpreet said their total of 298 was enough, considering it was on a different pitch, the overcast conditions and the extra pressure of a final.
There were moments when the score looked to be insufficient with Wolvaardt marching to a second consecutive century, stitching fifty-plus stands with Tazmin Brits, Luus and Annerie Dercksen in the process.
But, with the asking rate starting to climb, South Africa lost their last five wickets for 37 runs, with Deepti Sharma running through the lineup.
"We should give credit to the South Africa team. They played it beautifully. In the last moment they panicked a little bit, and that's where we caught the game," Harmanpreet said.
"And I think we, as a group, we have been talking about, you know, once they started doing a little bit, you know, something here and there, we have to catch that. And I think that right time Deepti came and took those crucial wickets."
In the league stage, India slipped to consecutive defeats against South Africa, Australia and England - the three teams that finished above them. But, India registered a memorable win to knock defending champions Australia out before sealing the title against South Africa.
"Yeah, last game also we spoke that self-belief was there that, you know, even though we lost three back-to-back games, but we knew this team has something special to turn things around the table," Harmanpreet said. "So, I think credit goes to each and every member. They stayed positive. They knew what we have to do the next three games, and I think everybody was so involved."