If you are an Indian, you would be suffering from Shafali madness. The young teen scored a terrific 49-ball 73 in the early morning on Sunday (IST), and she looked like she was angry with herself for getting out. In the second match of the day, she came only to hurt the bowlers as much as she can. She even had six consecutive fours and was clearing boundaries for fun.
Smriti Mandhana, on the other hand, made sure to give the maximum strike to the youngster and was enjoying her game from the best seat possible.
The duo made sure to take India home safe and give the visitors 2-0 lead. The day belonged to Shafali though. She scored 69* off 35.
Earlier, it was Deepti Sharma who stunned the hosts with her brilliance with the ball by picking up four wickets and she was supported by some good bowling from the other end as the visitors produced one great all-round show today. Only Nation scored 32 for West Indies and other than that, the team definitely wouldn’t be happy with the performance.
Heading into the T20I World Cup, Shafali Verma’s performance is a hugely positive sign and I’m sure with time, she will keep proving her critics wrong. Believe me, she is just fifteen and is already doing some really good damage to the opponents. Also, she has outplayed Smriti Mandhana in two days and is already threatening her record of fastest fifty by an Indian woman. Also, it is a good sign that India was able to finish the match without losing wickets.
For the West Indies, this is yet another wake-up call. They cannot keep depending on Taylor alone who has been the pillar for the team for a long time now. Her absence certainly was felt but again, it is not a great sign.
