New Delhi, Nov. 7 -- The Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur acknowledged the special effort from Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, who showed up with guts when things got rough for the World Cup winners.

Shafali Verma's entry into the World Cup was a story to tell all by itself. She was not a part of the 15-member squad ahead of the tournament. She came in to open the innings alongside Smriti Mandhana and had to play her part right from the get-go, replacing the injured Pratika Rawal just ahead of the semi-final against Australia.

The team's belief paid off, and Shafali reigned supreme in the summit clash against the Proteas in an unexpected fashion. She first blazed 87 off 78 with the bat to propel India to 298. And then c...