All posts tagged: shafali verma

Arundhati Reddy’s 4/22 powers India to DLS win over Australia

Arundhati Reddy’s 4/22 powers India to DLS win over Australia

Published by Webster

India Women began their T20 series against Australia with a 21-run win via the DLS method in a rain-affected opener at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. The victory was built on a standout bowling performance led by Arundhati Reddy, who claimed a career-best 4/22. Australia, ranked world No. 1, were bowled out for 133 in 18 overs after opting to bat first. India struck early through Renuka Singh, who dismissed Beth Mooney and applied pressure with a tight spell. Ellyse Perry’s 20 and Georgia Wareham’s top score of 30 offered resistance, but regular wickets stalled Australia’s progress. Reddy removed Perry and Phoebe Litchfield in quick succession and later ended Wareham’s innings, sparking a collapse that saw the hosts lose their final five wickets for just 12 runs. Rain halts chase with India ahead on DLS Chasing 134, India made a steady start before Shafali Verma accelerated, scoring 21 with a six and a boundary in a brisk cameo. At 50/1 in 5.1 overs, rain interrupted play. Under the DLS calculation, India were well ahead …

WPL 2026: Smriti Mandhana, Lauren Bell power RCB to fourth straight win

WPL 2026: Smriti Mandhana, Lauren Bell power RCB to fourth straight win

Published by Webster

Skipper Smriti Mandhana and pacer Lauren Bell starred as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Delhi Capitals by eight wickets to record their fourth win in as many matches in the 2026 Women’s Premier League on Saturday. Having opted to bowl first, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru got off to a spectacular start as they reduced the Capitals 10/4 in just 1.2 overs as Bell (3-26) and Sayali Sathgare (3-27) ripped apart their top order. Opener Shafali Verma steadied the innings for the Capitals, scoring 41-ball 62 with five boundaries and four sixes. Later, a few vital contributions down the order from Sneh Rana (22) and WPL debutant Lucy Hamilton (19-ball 36) helped the Capitals post a respectable 166/10 in their 20 overs, helping them recover from a precarious spot. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the season 2 champions, did not have the best of starts as Grace Harris walked back for 1. It remained the only sniff of joy the Delhi Capitals would have in the match as Mandhana and Georgia Voll shut the door on them with …

WPL: Lizelle Lee, Shafali Verma power Delhi Capitals to last-ball win over UP Warriorz | Cricket News

WPL: Lizelle Lee, Shafali Verma power Delhi Capitals to last-ball win over UP Warriorz | Cricket News

Published by Webster

After Delhi Capitals pulled back UP Warriorz with Shafali Verma’s help, Lizelle Lee’s big hits ensured that they got home despite a late wobble. It was a game between the two teams still to get off the mark in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), and the nerves were all too evident on both sides, even though there was no crowd in attendance. In the end, Delhi Capitals stumbled over the line off the final ball of the game, which had no business going so deep. But Jemimah Rodrigues, her team and the coaching staff will hope that the seven-wicket win at the DY Patil Stadium is just the beginning after a tough start to the campaign. On the other hand, it was the third straight defeat for Meg Lanning’s UP Warriorz, and they seem to be staring down the barrel. Lee’s onslaught Chasing 155 for a win after a bigger target seemed likely for most of the UP Warriorz innings, the Delhi Capitals knew that well begun would be half the job done. The 94-run …

WPL 2026: In afterglow of World Cup triumph, Indian cricket will hope to unearth new gems | Cricket News

WPL 2026: In afterglow of World Cup triumph, Indian cricket will hope to unearth new gems | Cricket News

Published by Webster

Under the Friday Night Lights of DY Patil Stadium, 68 days after the famous World Cup triumph at this very venue, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will walk out to the middle once more, not as teammates and trusted leadership partners, but opposing captains. The fourth edition of the Women’s Premier League promises to be more competitive than the previous versions, with teams having had the chance to reset at the mega auction. The league has already played a key role in elevating India’s top cricketers from competitors to winners but in the afterglow of becoming World Champions, the attention on Indian women’s cricket is bound to be higher than ever. As was expected, the group of 16 cricketers who were part of the World Cup triumph have rightly enjoyed adulation across the country, and across multiple platforms. Most of them will be playing key roles for their respective franchises, but the real measure of WPL’s success will be seen in unearthing new names that can challenge the headliners. ALSO READ | WPL 2026: Harmanpreet …

Why India’s Women’s World Cup winners still need improvements in nutrition | Cricket News

Why India’s Women’s World Cup winners still need improvements in nutrition | Cricket News

Published by Webster

At a BCCI inter-zonal tournament when she was younger, India’s World Cup-winning cricketer Harleen Deol carried a bottle of Cola. It was a basic challenge in restraint, she had set herself – returning home with the bottle still sealed. It was a necessary change in her diet to take her game to the next level. Her elder brother, Dr Manjot Singh, revealed to this paper that it was not just cold drinks, but also fast food she loved, and had to cut off. For star of the finals Shafali Verma, who debuted early, the realisation that protein deficiencies came in the way of recovery from soreness, struck early and protein scoop spoons became a constant accompaniment. “Because I am a vegetarian, and it’s very difficult for me to meet protein intakes, I relied a lot on protein powders,” she recalls. There was also “green things, green vegetables….,” which she began consuming later, she adds, but the science of why vitamins are necessary for absorption of key nutrients, isn’t clear to her. “When Kranti Gaud came …

Shafali Verma 2.0: Willingness to adapt and add dimensions | Cricket News

Shafali Verma 2.0: Willingness to adapt and add dimensions | Cricket News

Published by Webster

She’ll face bowling attacks of higher quality in the days and months to come, but in the year-ending five-match series against Sri Lanka, Shafali Verma showcased an evolution to her game that augurs well for 2026. She displayed the building blocks of a T20 game that has gone up a notch. “T20 toh mera favourite hai, mujhe bahut mazaa aata hai,” she broke into a chuckle after India’s 5-0 win. In a format anyway tailor-made for her, Shafali has shown the willingness to adapt and add more dimensions. With scores of 69*, 79* and 79 – 241 runs off 133 balls at a strike rate of 181.20 with 37 fours and five sixes – it was a Shafali show all the way. Picking up from where she left off in the World Cup final in Navi Mumbai, the opener was unstoppable in three of the five matches. When she was dropped from the India team late in 2024, it hit her hard. The prodigiously talented youngster faced the first major setback of her international career …

Reflections of 2025: A hit on a helmet to the rescue, frailty of Bazball exposed, Virat Kohli’s tears of joy | Cricket News

Reflections of 2025: A hit on a helmet to the rescue, frailty of Bazball exposed, Virat Kohli’s tears of joy | Cricket News

Published by Webster

When Harmanpreet Kaur completed the catch to dismiss Nadine de Klerk off Deepti Sharma, it felt like time briefly stopped. For everyone watching the moment live from the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, it was surreal. For a split second, the entire crowd seemed frozen. Then came the realisation and an outburst of emotion. “A victory that will ignite a nation,” beamed Ian Bishop on the broadcast. India winning the trophy, especially after three losses earlier in the tournament, is a moment that will be etched in memories. The celebrations that followed were even more special. Pratika Rawal, who had a heartbreaking injury and made way for Shafali Verma, joined her teammates in a wheelchair, even gingerly standing up on one leg to do a jig. Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami got to lift the trophy, one that eluded them on two previous occasions. Anjum Chopra, Diana Edulji and many other former cricketers were present to soak it all in. The players who walked so that Harmanpreet and Co could leap. Bazball busted If …

ICC T20I rankings: Shafali Verma climbs to 6th in batters’ list, Deepti Sharma remains on top in bowlers’ list | Cricket News

ICC T20I rankings: Shafali Verma climbs to 6th in batters’ list, Deepti Sharma remains on top in bowlers’ list | Cricket News

Published by Webster

India opener Shafali Verma rose to the 6th place in the recent ICC T20I rankings for batters after her impressive performances in the ongoing Sri Lanka series. Meanwhile, her compatriot Renuka Thakur also rose to 6th n the bowlers’ rankings after she grabbed a four-fer against the Lankan Lions in the 3rd T20I. Their teammate Deepti Sharma, however, continues to reign supreme as the No.1 bowler in the rankings. The 21-year-old Shafali, a former top-ranked batter, moved up four places after scores of 69 not out off 34 balls in the second T20I against Sri Lanka, followed by unbeaten knocks of 79 off 42 deliveries and 79 off 46 balls in the third and fourth matches in Thiruvananthapuram. In the bowling rankings, Renuka gained eight places to reach joint-sixth position following a match-winning haul of four for 21 in the third match that India won by eight wickets to seal the series. Several Indian stars are on the rise in the latest ICC Women’s T20I rankings update 📈https://t.co/dxxUllCc98 — ICC (@ICC) December 30, 2025 Meanwhile, …

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma’s record stand powers India to 30-run win, take 4-0 series lead

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma’s record stand powers India to 30-run win, take 4-0 series lead

Published by Parlour News

After a quiet start to the series, Smriti Mandhana saved her best for Sunday. Scores of 25, 14, and 1 in the first three T20Is had kept the Indian vice-captain in the shadows, but in the fourth match in Thiruvananthapuram, her sublime 80 off 48 balls not only powered India to their highest-ever T20I total but also set up a commanding 30-run win over Sri Lanka and go 4-0 up in the five-match series. “After playing a lot of ODI cricket, it was hard to get into T20 mode, playing six months of ODI and coming back to T20 was a bit hard mentally. The plans were similar; I had some gameplans against them, I came early and tried to work on that,” Mandhana said after the match. She set the early tone, creaming four boundaries in the first four overs to give her side a brisk start. Malsha Shehani and Kawya Kavindi failed to get their lines and lengths right, and the southpaw made them pay, flicking and cutting the deliveries to the boundary. …

India pile up record 221 to overpower Sri Lanka, seal 4–0 lead in T20I series

India pile up record 221 to overpower Sri Lanka, seal 4–0 lead in T20I series

Published by Webster

The India women’s cricket team produced a dominant batting display to register their highest-ever Women’s T20I total and defeat Sri Lanka women’s cricket team by 30 runs in the fourth match of the five-game series in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. The victory gave India an unassailable 4–0 lead. Batting first for the first time in the series, India amassed 221 for 2, powered by a record-breaking opening partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. The pair added 162 runs for the first wicket, the highest opening stand for India in women’s T20Is, laying the foundation for a commanding total. Shafali set the tempo early, reaching her third consecutive half-century in just 30 balls, while Mandhana paced her innings before accelerating through the middle overs. India raced to 61 without loss in the powerplay and were well placed at the halfway stage before unleashing a sustained assault. Mandhana’s 80 off 48 balls also saw her surpass Harmanpreet Kaur as India’s leading six-hitter in women’s T20Is. She later became only the second Indian woman, after Mithali Raj, to …