New Zealand sprung a fantastic turnaround to defeat India by three wickets
Although sidelined due to a knee and ankle injury during the group-stage game against Bangladesh and forced to miss the semifinal and the final, the 25-year-old opener received a rousing welcome from teammates and fans alike.
Images from the Women's T20 World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka in Dubai on Wednesday.
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.
Batting great Rahul Dravid, 1983 World Cup winner Roger Binny and women's cricket legend Mithali Raj will be bestowed with the Colonel C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday.
Invited to bat, Shafali, a regular in the India senior team, and Sehrawat, stitched a 111-run stand for the first wicket.
India opener Shafali admitted that Sri Lanka are no longer only dependent on their skipper Chamarai Athapaththu.
India women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, her deputy Smriti Mandhana and all-rounder Deepti Sharma were retained in Grade A, the highest category of central contracts offered by BCCI.
The 15-year-old Shafali, who was dismissed for a four-ball duck on her debut in the opening match, laid the foundation for a good total with a 33-ball innings, while Jemimah Rodrigues (33) provided the stablity, scoring a 22-ball 33.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be determined to give their home fans a parting victory when they take on a fatigued Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru on Saturday, before the Women's Premier League moves to Lucknow for its third leg.
Dashing opener Shafali Verma smashed 81 off 48 to power India to 178 for 3.
Delhi Capitals produced a splendid bowling effort before their batters, led by Niki Prasad, survived some anxious moments to register a narrow two-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in a last-ball thriller in the Women's Premier League
The Indian women's cricket team arrived in Colombo on Tuesday for the Asia Cup T20 beginning in Dambulla on July 19.
A night before the historic final against South Africa, the Indian women's team captain received a special phone call and it was none other than the history maker himself.
Shafali Verma blasted 60 runs off 30 balls after left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad's fine bowling to power India to a consolation nine-wicket victory over South Africa in the third and final match of the women's series, in Lucknow, on Tuesday.
India batsman Shafali Verma, who had to trim her hair and fight for a chance to play cricket, questioned the discrimination against girls and batted for an equal chance for females in all fields.
Shafali Verma (744 points) had grabbed the top spot at the end of the league stage of the just-concluded women's T20 World Cup in Australia which the hosts won for an unprecedented fifth time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated the triumphant Indian women's cricket team at his residence at Lok Kalyan Marg on Wednesday.
Shafali met Tendulkar and posted a picture with him on her Twitter handle.
Even as Australia pressed hard to regain control with key breakthroughs, Jemimah's focus never wavered. Her shot selection was immaculate and temperament unflappable.
'Her outstanding performance in the World Cup has definitely added to her brand value significantly. The high WPL bids validate it more.'
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.
India skipper Mithali Raj has welcomed the selection of teen sensation Shafali Verma in all three formats and said it would be crucial to get back to winning ways on the UK tour after the disappointment at home against South Africa.
Shafali wants to make the visit to South Africa even more memorable with another silverware.
Having retained the majority of their squad, MI will be the team to beat given their formidable batting, but Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals will be out to spoil their party.
Pratika Rawal made 308 runs in seven matches in the World Cup with a century and a fifty before she was ruled out of the semi-finals and final with injury.
The Indian women's team is set to leave for New Delhi from Mumbai on Tuesday for a special meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate their World Cup triumph.
Amol Muzumdar never experienced the highs of an India cricketer but now he is a World Cup winning head coach -- only the third in the history of Indian cricket after Gary Kirsten and Rahul Dravid.
Images from the women's T20 World Cup match between India and New Zealand in Melbourne, on Thursday.
I'd like India to have extra bowling depth against Australia: Ian bishop
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.
Smriti Mandhana smashed a blistering 47-ball 81 to power reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a resounding eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals
With her big-hitting prowess, a rarity in women's cricket, 16-year-old Shafali Verma was bound to succeed at the highest level. However, a lot of improvement is needed for her to sustain the sensational six-month run she has enjoyed since making her India debut, feel her coach Ashwani Kumar and former India wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, both of whom have tracked her nascent career closely.
Jemimah Rodrigues produced a sensational knock that included 14 fours as India pulled off the biggest successful chase in women's ODI history with nine balls to spare.
If the men of 1983 gave India a reason to dream, the women of 2025 could give it something rarer -- the courage to live that dream in full daylight, under an open sky that finally belongs to them, points out Prem Panicker.
India took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, with the final game scheduled to be played in Birmingham on Saturday.
Spinners Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma held their nerves during death overs as India pulled off a nail-biting eight-run victory over Bangladesh
India eye maiden women's T20I series win over England; hosts to miss injured skipper Brunt
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.
Harmanpreet Kaur says Shafali Verma struggled to bounce back from dropping Alyssa Healy but refused to blame the teenager for defeat in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup final, in Melbourne, on Sunday. India, playing in their first Women's T20 World Cup final, had no answer to Alyssa Healy (75) and Beth Mooney (78 not out) before folding to 99 all out at the hands of seamer Megan Schutt and spinner Jess Jonassen.
