Sanjay Bangar draws stunning parallels between Shafali Verma and Virender Sehwag after heroics vs Pakistan

Former Indian batter Sanjay Bangar has lauded Shafali Verma for her wonderful batting show in the India vs Pakistan match of the Women's Asia Cup 2024. Sanjay Bangar said Shafali Verma reminds him of former India opener Virender Sehwag.

Cricketer-turned-commentator Virender Sehwag was a legendary opener for India. He believed in the batting strategy- “See the ball, hit the ball”. During his entire cricket career, he dominated opposition bowlers as an opener. Also, Virender Sehwag is the only Indian player to smack 300+ knocks in Tests.

Shafali Verma smacked a wonderful knock of 40 runs off 25 balls in the India vs Pakistan match of the ongoing Women's Asia Cup 2024. Smacking 1 six and 6 fours during her knock; she held a strike rate of 137+. She also edged an 85-run partnership for the opening wicket with Smriti Mandhana. Notably, their opening stand was enough to chase down a 109-run target set by Pakistan Women in just 14 overs.

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Whenever I see Shafali Verma bat, I am reminded of Virender Sehwag: Sanjay Bangar

While speaking about Shafali Verma's vivacious knock on Star Sports, former batter Sanjay Bangar said she reminds him of opener Virender Sehwag. Sanjay Bangar noted that Shafali Verma makes the opposition team lose their morale just like Virender Sehwag used to do.

"Whenever I see her bat, I am reminded of Virender Sehwag because Shafali leaves her imprint just like Virender Sehwag did in men's cricket. She makes the opposing team lose their morale totally in the first six overs itself because of the sort of shots she plays," he said.

"She played some beautiful shots. The off-drive she played, I felt it was the best shot. It was an incredible shot and it shows that she is not only destructive but is fully capable of playing shots with good technique," Bangar further added.

Sanjay Bangar also hailed Shefali Verma's batting tactics in the clash against Pakistan. He feels the Indian opener found gaps very well and played according to the field settings.

“The best thing I liked about her batting was that she found the gaps very well. She knew where the fielders were present. When the ball lacked pace, she held herself back, gave herself time, and played many shots off the back foot”, said Sanjay Bangar, who has also coached Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL.

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India Women Crush Pakistan Women by 7 wickets

Talking about the India Women vs Pakistan Women match, India Women won by 7 wickets. Batting first, Pakistan Women failed to set up a strong total on the board and got out for just 108 runs in 19.2 overs.

Later, Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana slammed 40 and 45 respectively to set up a strong start and opening stand of 85. In the end, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues scored unbeaten 5 and 3 to drive the team to victory by a big margin of 7 wickets.

India Women's bowlers gave a wonderful show with their teamwork. Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, and Shreyanka Patil picked 2 wickets each. Deepti Sharma was an outstanding performer with 3 wickets for 20 runs. She was awarded the player of the match for her brilliant bowling show.

India Women will now face United Arab Emirates in their next match of group A. India Women vs UAE Women match is the fifth match of Women's T20 Asia Cup 2024. The encounter takes place at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Sri Lanka on Sunday, July 21.