India’s explosive opener, Shafali Verma, has achieved yet another milestone, reaching 2,000 runs in T20I cricket. During India’s clash against Sri Lanka, Shafali was just 18 runs short of this landmark and completed it to become the fifth Indian player to achieve the feat.
Shafali Verma is the youngest batter to achieve this feat of 2000 WT20I runs. She scored 43 runs in this game against Sri Lanka which included four boundaries before she was dismissed by Chamari Athapaththu. She played a vital role in the Indian team scoring a competitive total of 172 against Sri Lanka before the islanders were rattled for 90 resulting in an 82-run victory for India.
Youngest woman to score 2,000 T20I runs:
20y 255d – Shafali Verma (India)
23y 35d – Gaby Lewis (Ireland)
23y 318d – Jemimah Rodrigues (India)
24y 279d – Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
(Stat credit: Hypocaust)
Breaking into the team at the tender age of 15, Shafali became India’s youngest-ever T20I debutant. She made her debut in 2019 against South Africa, though her first outing wasn’t ideal as she was dismissed for a duck. However, the dynamic opener didn’t take long to showcase her explosive talent. She scored her maiden T20I fifty during India’s tour of the West Indies in 2019, smashing 73 off 49 balls and earning her first Player of the Match award in the format. She followed this up with an unbeaten 69 in the very next game, marking two consecutive half-centuries.
Following these impressive performances, Shafali was selected for India’s squad in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. At that tournament, she became the youngest Indian player to feature in a T20 World Cup and emerged as India’s leading run-scorer, accumulating 163 runs in five matches, playing a pivotal role in India reaching the final.
Over time, Shafali solidified her reputation as a powerful hitter in the Indian lineup. In the 2022 Women’s Asia Cup, she crossed 1,000 T20I runs, becoming the youngest player in women’s cricket to do so at just 18 years and 253 days. Fast forward to the 2024 Women’s Asia Cup, she recorded her highest T20I score of 81 against Nepal and finished as India’s leading run-scorer in the tournament, amassing 200 runs in five innings.
Now, having completed 2,000 T20I runs in her 83rd innings, Shafali Verma stands as the second-fastest Indian player to reach this milestone. With over 2,000 runs, 10 half-centuries, and a strike rate of 128.89, the young opener continues to be a force to reckon with on the global stage.
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