Pratika Raval recalls emotional journey of Women’s World Cup final: Didn’t see the last ball
Pratika Raval reflects on India’s historic Women’s World Cup final last month, where the team defeated South Africa to lift the ICC title for the first time. She missed the final after being ruled out of the tournament due to ankle and knee injuries sustained in the league match against Bangladesh.
Despite not playing, Pratika attended the function in her wheelchair After India’s victory. She experienced an emotional whirlwind during the final in Navi Mumbai and admitted that she did not see the last ball, when Harmanpreet Kaur took the decisive catch to dismiss Nadine de Klerk.
“Sitting out and watching the Indian players lift the trophy – I still feel great because my team did something that had not been done before,” Pratika said at the RevSports Conclave in Kolkata.
“I had a lot of emotions surging through my mind. I didn’t see the last ball. Someone from the management said, ‘Let’s go down.’ I saw it later in highlights. And then, my father went crazy. This was a game-changer for women’s cricket. I have no words,” said Pratika.
When did Pratika make a comeback?
Despite missing the semi-finals and final, Pratika played a key role in India’s World Cup campaign and was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the tournament. In seven matches, the Delhi batsman scored 308 runs at an average of 51.33. Which also includes the highest score of 122 runs against New Zealand.
She is one of only two Indian batsmen, along with Smriti Mandhana, to score 1,000 or more runs in ODIs in the same calendar year.
Following her injury, Pratika was sidelined for almost four months and was also unable to participate in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 despite being selected by UP Warriors.
He returned to India’s ODI team for the Australia tour and scored 79 runs in three matches. Pratika later made her Test debut in the pink-ball Test at the WACA in Perth and scored 63 runs in the second innings, although India lost by 10 wickets.
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