Indian batter Shafali Verma starred with 55 off 44 and 2 for 10 with the ball to help India claim a dominant victory in Saturday’s Asia Cup game against Bangladesh.
The 18-year-old had an extended run of poor form in recent months but she returned among runs in her last couple of outings in the Asia Cup. She scored 46 off 39 balls against Malaysia women and most recently struck 55 in 44 balls versus Bangladesh on Saturday.
Prior to her knock versus Malaysia, Shafali had failed to cross the 20-run mark in 10 successive innings for India across formats and had only managed 84 runs.
Speaking after her stellar performance against Bangladesh, Verma said the return to form was a result of the hard work she has put in. She also said she’s always ready to do what the team wants from her.
“I am always thinking about what the team wants and am always ready for that. I was thinking about bowling in good areas. While batting, It was a bit difficult because the ball kept low. I have put in a lot of hard work, and it (performance) has come after a long time. So very happy about it,”
said Shafali.
India bounced back quickly after their shock loss to Pakistan as they hammered Bangladesh by 59 runs. Indian openers were outstanding at the top, adding 96 runs for the first wicket in 12 overs. Smriti Mandhana scored 47 off 38 while Shafali registered her fourth T20I fifty, smashing five fours and two sixes in her knock.
Later, Verma bowled her full quota of four overs and only conceded 10 runs while snaring two wickets. Deepti Sharma also claimed 2 for 13 in four overs as India restricted the opponents to 100/7.
Team India have pretty much secured their spot in the Asia Cup semi-finals, having won four out five matches and sitting at the top with eight points.
