Pratika Rawal reflected on India’s historic Women’s World Cup final last month, where the team defeated South Africa to claim an ICC title for the first time. She had missed the final after being ruled out of the tournament due to ankle and knee injuries sustained in a league match against Bangladesh.
Despite not playing, Pratika joined the celebrations in her wheelchair after India’s triumph. She described experiencing an emotional whirlwind during the final in Navi Mumbai and admitted she didn’t watch the last ball, when Harmanpreet Kaur took the decisive catch to dismiss Nadine de Klerk.
“To sit outside and watch the Indian players lift the trophy – I still felt great as my team did something that hadn’t been done before,” Pratika said at the Revsportz Conclave in Kolkata.
“I had a lot of emotions going through me. I didn’t see the last ball. Someone from the management said, ‘Let us go down.’ I saw it later in the highlights. And then, my father went crazy. It was a game-changer for women’s cricket. I am short of words,” Pratika added.
WHEN DID PRATIKA MAKE A COMEBACK?
Despite missing the semifinal and final, Pratika played a crucial role in India’s World Cup campaign, finishing as the tournament’s fourth-highest run-scorer. In seven matches, the Delhi batter scored 308 runs at an average of 51.33, including a top score of 122 against New Zealand.
She is one of only two Indian batters, alongside Smriti Mandhana, to score 1,000 or more runs in ODIs in a single calendar year.
Following her injury, Pratika was sidelined for about four months and also missed the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 despite being picked by UP Warriorz.
She made her comeback in India’s ODI squad for the Australia tour, scoring 79 runs across three matches. Pratika later made her Test debut in the pink-ball Test at the WACA in Perth, scoring 63 in the second innings, though India lost by 10 wickets.
