In a dominant display at Visakhapatnam, 21-year-old opener Shafali Verma smashed an unbeaten 69 off just 34 balls, laced with 11 boundaries and a six, to steer India to a comfortable seven-wicket victory in the second T20I against Sri Lanka on December 23, 2025. This clinical run chase of 129 propelled Harmanpreet Kaur’s side to a 2-0 lead in the five-match bilateral series.
Fresh off her starring role in India’s historic ICC Women’s ODI World Cup triumph, Verma’s post-match press conference offered a glimpse into her maturing mindset, team dynamics, and eyes on the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Verma’s explosive knock earned her the Player of the Match award, mirroring Jemimah Rodrigues’ unbeaten 69 off 44 balls (with 10 boundaries) that clinched the opener. Reflecting on the series so far, the young batter highlighted the positives while pinpointing fielding as a key area for growth.
“Well, absolutely, there were a lot of good things. Jemimah played a match-winning knock, staying unbeaten, today I stayed unbeaten throughout the innings. But, areas to improve, I’ll say in the fielding department, but I know we all are working very hard and putting in a lot of effort and are improving a lot day by day, on an individual level. Hopefully, we’ll put up a better performance on the field.”
Fielding remains a focal point for India, especially with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup looming in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5, 2026. Verma addressed dropped catches from the first game and praised debutant Vaishnavi Sharma’s maiden international wicket. “We all know, we have a T20 World Cup next year, and we’ve already started working for it.
“A few catches were dropped in the first game. Everyone puts in the efforts, as I said earlier, we’ve worked really hard on our fielding, and we’re very keen to work hard and are already ready to do so. Talking about Vaishnavi (4-0-32-2), today was her maiden international wicket; we all were all very happy for her. She’s bowling so well, and it was good to see her very confident.”
Delving into her batting masterclass, Verma revealed a calculated approach amid tricky conditions. The ball gripped early, but she rotated strike before unleashing once it came to hand. “It’s a saying that, when it’s your day, finish the game and come, so today I was feeling that it was my day, but I was only having one thing in mind, which was to execute my plans.
“The ball was holding a lot in the beginning, but I was trying to take a few singles, after that, in the next few overs, the ball started coming in my range, was very happy to see that and got more motivated to keep playing and stay there. So, I’m learning from the experiences day by day.”
Verma’s composure stems from her breakout in the recently concluded 13th ICC Women’s ODI World Cup, where India, under Harmanpreet Kaur and head coach Amol Muzumdar, clinched their maiden senior-level ICC title. Hosting the tournament from September 30 to November 2, 2025, culminating in a 52-run final win over South Africa at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, marked a historic home triumph.
Verma, a late replacement for injured Pratika Rawal, aggregated 97 runs at a strike-rate of 116.86 across two innings, peaking with 87 off 78 balls (7 fours and 2 sixes) in the final, the highest by an Indian opener in a World Cup decider. Her 100-run opening stand with Mandhana propelled India to 298/7, and she chipped in with 2/36, dismissing Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp.
This success has turbocharged her confidence. “Absolutely, it built a lot of confidence. The way I worked during the start of this year that was useful in the final and got executed really well. I’m very happy that, when nothing was in my hand, that time I only did one thing, which is work hard. So, I think hard work always pays off. And I can say this from my personal experience, I’m so happy for the fact that I was able to cut all the noise and focus on working hard.”
Team depth excites Verma, with Amol Muzumdar urging all-round readiness. “Amol sir always says that everyone should be ready to bowl. We all bowl in the nets. Even Smriti Didi, Jemimah and me, we all bowl in the nets. You never know when the team will need you, so we all have to be ready for that. I will talk about myself. I like to bowl a lot, and I think when we get bored while fielding, we get to bowl. So, we get to contribute more to the team.”
She teased her pre-match visualization ritual, crediting “Harsha sir” while playfully dodging details. “It’s an inside secret which I can’t reveal, but Harsha sir always helps us in visualizing, which helps us a lot. It’s a deep secret; it’ll be good if you can ask Harmanpreet di or else I’ll be on the receiving end.”
“Our job as players is to do well for the team; getting selected in the team is not in our hands. And keep a positive intent in everything. Everyone is very keen to learn something new, and everyone is looking in a good rhythm. Hopefully, we take a good amount of experience from the upcoming games and take that forward in the T20 World Cup.”
With the third T20I set for December 26 at Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium (7 PM IST), Shafali Verma embodies India’s rising firepower, blending World Cup glory with T20 intent.
(Quotes sourced from BCCI)
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