Veda Krishnamurthy: 5 of her best international innings so far

35(34) vs England Women, Final, ICC Women's World Cup at Lord's on 23 July 2017

Veda confessed cursing herself after getting out during what could have been the knock of her life.

On the biggest days of their lives, the Indian Women's team dominated the match for the most part. Playing only their second World Cup final, India were up against tournament favourites England on their home ground and the home of cricket - the Lord's.

The home team won the toss and chose to bat. India's consistent bowling and fielding kept a lid on England - as Katherine Brunt, Natalie Sciver and Sarah Taylor managed to get their team only to 228 for 7 in their 50 overs.

India got off to an inauspicious start as Smrithi Mandhana - who began the tournament with a bang - touched her lowest form in the second half of the tournament, getting out for zero in the final.

Captain Mithali Raj complimented top scorer Poonam Raut quite well before her bat got stuck in the pitch while attempting to slide it in to unsuccessfully avoid a run out with the team score at 43. In-form Harmanpreet Kaur steadied things, as a 95-run partnership saw India within 100 runs from victory.

But after Kaur got out, Veda came in and again took control of things, scoring runs at a brisk rate and dominating the partnership with opener Poonam Raut. Scoring 30 runs amid a run-a-ball partnership with Raut, Veda only needed wickets at the other hand to see the team through. But Anya Shrubsole's spell came like an unprecedented disaster for India.

Trapping Punam in front of the stumps when India needed 38 off 44 with seven wickets in hand, Shrubsole was helped by Hartley who dismissed wicket-keeper batsman Sushmita Verma for a duck in the very next over.

Running out of partners, Veda had no choice but to attack Shrubsole, and she too holed out to a catch from Sciver with just 29 runs needed. What followed was a climax for the ages, and England were the team that held their nerve in the end, winning the match by nine-runs thanks to a six-wicket haul by Shrubsole.

Though England won the match and a fourth World Cup title, India's women won lots of hearts and applause from their countrymen and the government alike. Veda Krishnamurthy's tournament average of over 30 is something she would love to exceed in the next edition, but a fighting, yet unfulfilled knock will certainly motivate her to fight on whenever she is faced with another such situation in her lifetime.

Perhaps the same way the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan were motivated during 2011 after a disappointing 2003 World Cup final.