Shafali Verma Sets New Record in Women's T20Is with Stellar Performance
Shafali Verma's Remarkable T20I Journey
In Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on September 22, Indian opener Shafali Verma has made headlines by becoming the leading run-scorer in women's T20Is for a single calendar year. Her impressive performance in the Asian Games final against Sri Lanka saw her score 48 runs off just 29 balls, featuring three fours and three sixes, achieving a strike rate of 165.52.
Throughout 2023, Shafali has played 24 T20Is, accumulating a total of 863 runs with an average of 39.22 and a strike rate of 162.83. This includes one century and seven half-centuries, with her highest score being an unbeaten 100. She has outperformed South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt, who has scored 824 runs in the same number of matches, averaging 43.36 with a strike rate of 138.72, including two centuries and four fifties.
Since the conclusion of the 50-over World Cup 2025, Shafali's performance in knockout matches has been nothing short of spectacular. Her recent innings include:
- Asia Cup semifinal: 64 runs off 40 balls
- Asia Cup final: 68 runs off 39 balls
- Asian Games quarterfinal: 40* runs off 15 balls
- Asian Games semifinal: 100* runs off 49 balls
- Asian Games final: 48 runs off 29 balls
These performances have resulted in a remarkable tally of 407 runs in just six innings, averaging 101.75, which includes one century and three fifties.
In a notable achievement, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have become the first duo in women's T20I history to surpass 4,000 runs together, amassing 4,080 runs in 107 matches at an average of 39.23 and a run rate of 8.34, which includes six centuries and 26 half-century partnerships.
Following them are the UAE pair of Esha Oza and Theertha Satish with 2,949 runs, and the Australian duo of Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney with 2,720 runs.
In the match itself, India won the toss and opted to bat first. A strong partnership of 99 runs between Smriti Mandhana, who scored 79 runs off 45 balls with five fours and seven sixes, and Shafali Verma set a solid foundation. Although captain Harmanpreet Kaur managed only 19 runs off 17 balls, Richa Ghosh's explosive 49* runs off 22 balls, including six fours and three sixes, propelled India to a total of 216/3.