Shafali Verma smashed a 17-ball 39, including four sixes, to steer India to 142 to six
15-year-old Shafali Verma became the youngest Indian cricketer to score a half-century in international cricket.
India's limited overs vice-captain Smriti Mandhana slammed a 39-ball 45 to power defending champions Sydney Thunder to a six-wicket win over Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash league.
India's Deepti Sharma also moved up to no 6 while Poonam Yadav remained at eighth.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
India's teen batting sensation Shafali Verma is set to play for Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural edition of The Hundred and might also turn up for a Sydney franchise in the Women's Big bash League later in the year.
Mandhana happy to score a ton in a format that 'is not a natural format for me.'
Smriti Mandhana smashed a blistering 47-ball 81 to power reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a resounding eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals
Smriti Mandhana, Ellyse Perry, Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning and Harmanpreet Kaur were some of the big names retained by their respective franchises for the next edition of the Women's Premier League.
The early overs used to be all about Smriti Mandhana but India's star opener says she feels relieved of pressure thanks to the emergence of teenage prodigy Shafali Verma. There's been no hesitation from Verma in making a name for herself on the global stage, the 16-year-old having scored 68 runs across two games, including five sixes and seven fours, at an impressive strike rate of 212.
Sydney Sixers on Monday confirmed the signing of Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav for the upcoming Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).
Dashing opener Shafali Verma smashed 81 off 48 to power India to 178 for 3.
The Indian women's cricket team arrived in Colombo on Tuesday for the Asia Cup T20 beginning in Dambulla on July 19.
16-year-old Shafali Verma announced her emergence on the global stage by becoming the second highest run getter in the ongoing tournament. She has so far scored 161 runs, hitting 18 fours and nine sixes in four matches, at an astounding strike rate of 161.
Shafali Verma has enjoyed a breakthrough ICC Women's T20 World Cup with the bat but her off-the-field impact has not been lost on captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Verma has scored 161 runs at a stunning strike rate of 161 in Australia, setting the tone for India's four Group A victories with fearless batting despite being in her first global tournament.
Delhi Capitals dished out an all-round effort to comfortably beat former champions Mumbai Indians by nine wickets
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur lauded Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh after their match-winning knock
Verma, who had regained the top position last week, garnered 26 rating points for her knock in the final
Teen sensation Shafali Verma is set to make her eagerly-anticipated ODI debut as the Indian women's team seeks white-ball course correction against a strong world champion English side in the first game of the three-match series, in Bristol, on Sunday.
Clobbered by Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana recently, Australian pacer Megan Schutt says she hates playing against India and doesn't want to bowl at the marauding duo during powerplay when the two teams clash in the Women's T20 World Cup final, in Sydney on Sunday. Schutt, who took a crucial 2/17 in Australia's five-run win over South Africa in the rain-hit semi-final on Thursday, has still not recovered from the drubbing she got at the hands of Verma in the tournament-opener.
Far from disappointed at being overlooked for ODIs despite her swashbuckling T20 show, India's teenage batting sensation Shafali Verma says it motivates her to work harder as she knows there is 'something' lacking in her game.
India were forced to follow on after being dismissed for 231 in the first innings, in the opening session on Day 3, of the one-off women's Test against England in Bristol, on Friday.
Veteran Mithali Raj's retirement from the T20 format paved the way for the induction of youngsters such as 15-year-old rookie Shafali Verma in the Indian women's team for the upcoming home T20 Internationals against South Africa.
India's Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma have retained their third positions in the latest ICC Women's T20I batter and bowlers' rankings respectively, released on Tuesday.
Invited to bat, Shafali, a regular in the India senior team, and Sehrawat, stitched a 111-run stand for the first wicket.
Relentless accuracy by the bowlers, led by Radha Yadav, drove India to a comfortable 59-run victory over New Zealand in the first women's ODI in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
"I really felt for Shafali Verma at the end, it was tough seeing her in tears but she should be very proud of the way she's performed in Australia," Brett Lee wrote in his column for the ICC.
Smriti Mandhana struck a sublime half-century as India finally produced a good batting display to record a seven-wicket win over Australia in Melbourne on Saturday, keeping their hopes alive for a place in the final of the women's T20 tri-series. Australia posted 173 for 5 courtesy of a quickfire 57-ball 93 from Ashleigh Gardner and Meg Lanning's 22-ball 37 after India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur elected to field at the Junction Oval.
Needing 16 off two overs, Kashvee Gautam struck Shikha Pandey for a six off the last ball to bring down the equation to seven runs in the last over.
New Zealand sprung a fantastic turnaround to defeat India by three wickets
Teenager Shafali Verma scored her second consecutive half-century after off-spinner Deepti Sharma starred with the ball as the Indian women's team registered an emphatic 10-wicket win against West Indies in the second T20 International.
Delhi Capitals will be aiming to claim the top spot, while UP Warriorz will be desperate to register their first victory of the season when the two sides face off in the Women's Premier League in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, unleashed a devastating performance against Sri Lanka in the Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai on Wednesday.
Images from ICC women's T20 World Cup match between India and Bangladesh, in Perth, on Monday.
India registered a hard-fought six-wicket win over arch rivals Pakistan, keeping their semi-final hopes alive in the Women's T20 World Cup.
Smriti Mandhana, who has 738 rating points, is the top-ranked Indian batter in the 50-over format while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur retained her ninth position.
Rohit Sharma's poor run of form has not allowed Mumbai Indians to set the tone in the Indian Premier League ((IPL) so far, believes former Indian women's captain Anjum Chopra.
In fact, Bangladesh hardly recovered from the deep wounds inflicted by Renuka in the first six overs.
Five years ago, a starry-eyed Shafali Verma wrestled through a vociferous crowd at the nondescript Lahli ground in Haryana to get a glimpse of her idol Sachin Tendulkar, the moment that inspired the then 10-year-old to take up the game.
West Indies' Chinelle Henry smashed a 23-ball 62, including eight sixes and two fours, to equal the record for the fastest fifty in the Women's Premier League.
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