Want To Thank My Father And The Boys I Practiced With: Shafali Verma After Helping India Storm Into Semifinal Of T20 WC

16-year old Shafali Verma is fast turning out to be India’s main player in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia. While the big names have not really delivered on the expected lines, Shafali Verma has made sure to justify the hype surrounding her.

On Thursday, she was India’s top-performer with the bat once again as the Women in Blue defeated New Zealand by 4 runs in a thrilling encounter to get a ticket to the semifinal. India became the first team to enter the semifinal of the ongoing competition. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side has won all of its three games so far.

Shafali Verma, meanwhile bagged her second consecutive Man of the Match award after starring with the bat again. While India’s middle-order failed again, the youngster scored 46 off 34 balls to help the team post a respectable total of 133 for 8. Her innings was studded with 4 fours and three sixes. No other batter from India crossed the 23-run mark. In reply, New Zealand ended up on 129 for 6.

Speaking after the game, Shafali Verma thanked her father for keeping faith in her. She also made sure to mention the boys she practised with to improve her batting skills.

“I was happy with the performance and wanted to give a good start at the powerplay. I waited for the loose balls which are my strength and it paid off today,” Shafali Verma told in a post-match interview.

“I practiced a lot with the boys and I want to thank my dad and all the boys at the practice who helped me train well in batting,” she added.

India will now face Sri Lanka in their final Group A match on Feb 29.

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