Currently, the Indian women’s team are hosting South Africa for a multi-format series from June 16 to July 9. Shafali Verma, renowned for her aggressive batting style, has set a new record in women’s cricket by scoring the fastest double century against South Africa during the one-off Test in Chennai. Verma did not have a decent outing in the One Day Internationals (ODI) series in this multi-format series, but to recover from that she not only registered her maiden Test hundred but also converted it to become the fastest to reach a double century.
After reaching her century in 113 balls, she accelerated, scoring the fastest-ever Test 150 in 158 balls and then the fastest 200 overall by facing 194 balls. She smashed a total of 23 boundaries and 8 maximums, maintaining a strike rate of 104.06.
Meanwhile, she achieved numerous milestones, including recording the fastest 150 and the fastest double century in women’s Test cricket. She became the second youngest player to score a Test double-hundred and the second Indian to achieve this feat after Mithali Raj. Verma is just behind Raj in the highest score by an Indian in Test cricket. She also set the record for the most sixes (8) in a Test innings and became the first woman cricketer to score over 200 runs at more than a run-a-ball rate in a Test innings. Additionally, she became the youngest Indian to reach 500 Test runs.
Following the match, Shafali Verma held a press conference at Chennai’s M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.
ON HER APPROACH THROUGHOUT THE INNINGS:
Shafali Verma expressed gratitude for the congratulations and emphasized the importance of this achievement. In the last three ODIs, she had been getting starts but couldn’t convert them into big runs. In the one-off Test, she decided to take some time as the ball was moving a bit initially and the bowlers were performing well. She wanted to give herself time at the wicket, back her strengths, and stand firm with the confidence that she could succeed. She expressed her happiness for being able to achieve this.
She mentioned, “Today, I had to take some time because in the beginning the ball was moving a little and they were also bowling very well, so, l wanted to give some time to myself on the wicket, back my strength, stand at the wicket for some time ya with the confidence I could do this thing. So, I’m really happy about that.”
ON THE SURFACE AND CONDITIONS IN CHENNAI:
Shafali Verma described that at the beginning of the match, there was some swing for the pacers, but the spinners experienced reduced turn. However, after tea, there was a slight turn, leading to the hope that the bowlers would get some assistance the following day.
She said, “If you see in the beginning, there was a little swing of the pacers but the turn of the spinners was reducing but at the end, after the tea, there was a little turn, so I hope our bowlers get some help tomorrow.”
ON HER MAIDEN HUNDRED AND WHETHER SHE’S WORKED ON TECHNICAL ASPECTS:
Shafali Verma reflected on her maiden hundred expressing immense gratitude and joy, attributing her double century to hard work and feeling proud to contribute to the team.
She said, “It feels very good. Thanks to God that my maiden hundred and double hundred came together, I think it has been possible due to my hard work, and I am really happy to contribute to the team.”
When asked about her technical improvements, she emphasized the importance of keeping strategic details private, especially with the upcoming World Cup. While she acknowledged that runs are being scored and she is happy with her performance, she refrained from sharing specific techniques to avoid giving an advantage to other teams.
She further added, “I am happy and l am scoring runs for my team but if I tell you the technique so the other teams will get help, so I don’t think it is worth telling,”
ON WHAT CHANGED FROM THE ODIs:
Shafali Verma noted that the ball was looking very good on the bat today. After observing the last three ODIs, she decided that she should not get out and aimed to play the full innings. With God’s grace, she was middling the ball well and did not want to give away easy wickets. She felt confident and focused on hitting the ball where she intended. Determined to bat longer and set a big total for her team, she succeeded and expressed her happiness about the achievement.
She mentioned, “I was middling the ball pretty well and did not want to give away easy wickets. I was feeling good on the ball where I wanted to hit it was hitting there.”
She further added, “I wanted to bat longer and set a big total as I can for my team and that happened, really happy for that.”
ON HER PARTNERSHIP WITH SMRITI MANDHANA:
The duo Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana set numerous records together in this Test, with the highest opening partnership with 292-run opening-wicket stand and are 2nd in highest partnership for any wicket in Test behind Australia’s Denise Annetts and Lindsay Reeler’s 309. Additionally, the total partnership runs of 831 between Mandhana and Verma are the highest overall.
Shafali Verma expressed that Smriti always provides significant support and encouragement at the crease. She mentioned that having a partner who backs you and offers guidance on every ball is invaluable, and Smriti’s constant reassurance and conversations have been incredibly helpful to her.
She said, “Ya, of course, Smriti always backs me a lot at the crease and helps me a lot.”
ON WHETHER THE MEMORIES OF GETTING OUT ON 96 ON HER TEST DEBUT ENTERED HER MIND:
Shafali Verma expressed that she recalled that day vividly and focused on reaching 100 this time. As she approached 96 runs today, she remembered her previous near-miss and concentrated on scoring the next four runs before thinking about anything else.
She stated,” When today I was at ninety-six, I remembered that day itself and I thought that today first I have to score 4 runs, only after that think about everything.”
ON HER APPROACH WHILE CLOSING IN ON 200:
Shafali Verma explained that she backed herself and felt fortunate that an off-spinner was bowling at the time, which gave her the confidence to reach the milestone in just a few balls.
She expressed, “It was just that I backed myself, and thank God that an off-spinner had also come at that time, so ya in 2-3 balls I will score a two hundred.”
ON HER STROKEPLAY AND CONVERSATION WITH JEMIMAH RODRIGUES POST THE DAY’S PLAY:
Shafali Verma emphasized the importance of playing straight in red-ball cricket, citing it as her strength. She mentioned that misunderstandings like the one with Jemimah are part of the game, and clarified that Jemimah had apologized afterwards, highlighting the normalcy of such incidents in cricket.
She said, “And yes, incidents happen just like what happened earlier with Jemimah because this is cricket, it’s very normal, and she also apologized to me after that, so that’s all.”
ON THE PREPARATIONS IN THE BATTER’S CAMP IN BENGALURU BEFORE THE START OF THE SERIES:
Shafali Verma stated that the batter’s camp in Bengaluru was a pivotal part of their preparations. They engaged in extensive practice sessions, including several matches with both red and white balls. The camp fostered a sense of camaraderie among the batters, who appreciated the opportunity to train together and support each other’s development. It was a fun and productive environment where everyone could focus on their skills, with bowlers also benefiting from dedicated practice sessions. The camp proved beneficial as it showcased many talented players delivering impressive performances, setting a positive tone for the upcoming matches, and they look forward to continuing such preparations in the future.
She expressed, “I’m really happy that camp happened and as you saw, many good performances came from many talented players from that camp. And I hope we will continue to do these things.”
ON ASKING WHICH WAS HER FAVORITE MEMORY:
Shafali Verma reflected on her achievements, noting that while winning the Under-19 World Cup was undoubtedly a highlight and her best innings, scoring the double century in the South Africa Test ranked closely behind. She likened it to the cherished moment following the 2023 U-19 World Cup victory, emphasizing that this Test innings now stood as her second-best performance.
She said, “I think the World Cup is the World Cup and that was my best innings, but yeah, after that, scoring this double ton is another treasured memory.”