Watch: Teary-eyed Shafali Verma consoled by teammates after T20 World Cup Final loss to AUS

India’s terrible record in the ICC tournament knockout games continued as they lost the final of ICC T20 World Cup 2020 against Australia. Since 2014, neither the men’s team nor the women’s team has won a single ICC tournament. In the same period, the women’s team have lost two finals and one semifinal while the men’s team have lost 3 semi-finals and 2 finals. After the loss in the final, 16-year-old Shafali Verma was seen crying while her teammates consoled her.

Watch: Shafali Verma cries after India’s loss in the final 

Without a doubt, Shafali Verma was the revelation at this World cup.  The 16-year-old scored 163 runs at an average of 32.6 with a strike rate of 158. Open in the innings, Verma gave India quick starts in each of the league matches. But, the young batswoman from Haryana start failed to perform at the biggest stage. She managed only two runs and was dismissed of only the third ball of the Indian innings in the final. The performance in the final must have hurt her really bad as she was seen with teary-eyes after the match. Watch the video here:

https://twitter.com/imfemalecricket/status/1236631742427119617

It's ok Shafali verma, you've achieved more than what a 16 year old can do ?? don't be sad ?? We are proud you #shafaliverma #T20WorldCup #INDvAUS #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/c4Pdxi2ryE

— Avinash (@Avi_united) March 8, 2020

To add insult to injury, Shafali Verma had dropped Alyssa Healy‘s catch in the very first over off the bowling of Deepti Sharma. After the drop catch, Healy went on to score 75 runs off just 39 balls. She set the tone for the Australian innings and helped the hosts to dominate the final from the very first over. The video just goes to show how hurt Verma must have felt after fielding and batting performance in the final.

Captain Harmanpreet praises Verma for a solid tournament

At the post-match press conference, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur praised Shafali Verma for her performances throughout this world cup. “I hadn’t even played women’s cricket or seen women’s cricket at the age of 16. She is playing international cricket at this age and it just goes to show how talented she is. The dropped catch must have made her feel bad but you have to be hard on yourself at times when you are playing international cricket. It’s a learning lesson for her and its important for her to learn from mistakes,” Harmanpreet said while talking about Verma dropping the catch of Healy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut39xkInW5M&t=6s