Credit: X
In the third and final Group A match in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024, Shafali Verma scored a fantastic half-century filled with splendid strokeplay, to help India post an impressive total of 178/3 against Nepal. Dayalan Hemalatha was involved in a 122-run opening stand with Shafali Verma, who got all the applause for her breezy innings on X.
After the Indian stand-in captain, Smriti Mandhana won the toss and decided to bat first before revealing that Harmanpreet Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar had been rested for this match. Smriti Mandhana didn’t walk out to bat alongside Shafali Verma at the top of the order, sending Dayalan Hemalatha in her place.
During their opening partnership of 122 runs, Shafali Verma took the attack to the Nepalese bowlers, while Dayalan Hemalatha focused on the accumulation at the other end. Verma scored 81 off 48 with 12 fours and one maximum, notching up her 10th half-century in T20Is, and Hemalatha got 47 off 42.
In the last few overs of the Indian innings, Jemimah Rodrigues scored 28 off 15 with five fours, to take India very close to the 180-run mark, the total Smriti Mandhana spoke about at the toss time.
Here are some of the fan reactions on X for Shafali Verma’s fifty against Nepal in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024:
