Shafali Verma smashed a 115-ball 197 for Haryana in the quarter-finals of the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy against Bengal in Rajkot. He hit 22 fours and 11 sixes in his innings and Haryana scored 389 for 5.
But Bengal managed the chase with five wickets and five balls to spare. This is by far the most successful chase in List A women’s
cricket. The previous record was 309 by Northern Districts against Canterbury in 2019.
Almost all the Bengal batsmen contributed to the cause. Openers Dhara Gujjar (69 off 49) and Sasthi Mondal (52 off 29) provided a start of 100 in 9.1 overs. After that, Tanusree Sarkar led the way with 113 off 83 balls. Once Sarkar was dismissed, Priyanka Bala took control and took the team home with an unbeaten 88 off 81 balls. Earlier, Sarkar had made 3 for 56 with the ball.
For Shafali, it was his second hundred in the ongoing competition, having opened the tournament with a 98-ball 139 against Uttar Pradesh. In seven innings, Shafali scored 527 runs at an average of 75.28 and a strike rate of 152.31.
Shafali’s good run comes at a time when he has been left out of India’s white-ball teams. She was dropped from the ODI squad for the tour of Australia, having scored just 108 runs in six ODIs at an average of 18 this year. Despite her good start in the women’s one-day tournament, Shafali was also left out of the squad for the ODIs against the West Indies.
In her absence, India has struggled to find a stable opening partner for Smriti Mandhana. In Australia, where they lost 3-0, they tested Priya Punia and Richa Ghosh. While it appeared that the decision to promote Ghosh in the second ODI was due to an injury to Punia, the batsman confirmed in a press conference that she had been in line to open even before the game.
Against the West Indies on Sunday, India had another new opening combination with Delhi’s Pratika Rawal partnering Mandhana. Rawal made a patient 40 in a 110-run opening stand as India secured a big win.
Shafali’s most recent outing for India was during the home ODIs against New Zealand in October, when he made 56 runs in three innings. He was in poor form during the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (97 runs in four innings) where India were eliminated from the group stage.
When Harmanpreet Kaur was asked about several senior players missing from the team ahead of the series against the West Indies, she said only the “right person” could answer, referring to the selection committee. “Because I can only talk about the team that is here and what we can do to win this series. I think with respect to Shafali, or any other player, [it’s] “It’s better to ask the right people.”
A few weeks earlier, Harmanpreet had said that Shafali was crucial to India’s plans. “She [Shafali] “She is a very important player for us and has done exceptionally well for the country,” he had said before the series opener against Australia in Brisbane. “We’re looking forward to seeing her get back into her zone and perform well for the team.”
