Shafalis record half-ton in 2nd WT20I helps India take 2-0 series lead against Sri Lanka
Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women's T20 International.
New Delhi: Shafali Verma's record unbeaten half-century helped India make light work of Sri Lanka in second women's T20I match to take a 2-0 series lead. Chasing a low score of 129 runs, Shafali struck 34-ball 69-run knock studded with 11 fours and 1 six power the hosts to a comfortable 7-wicket victory in just 11.5 overs.
Apart from Shafali, Jemimah Rodrigues helped in the chase with 26 runs with the Sri Lankan bowlers failing to curtail the Indian batters in any manner. Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani excelled with the ball in the first innings claiming two wickets apiece to restrict the Lankan women to a below-par total.
Sneh Rana and Kranti Gaud also claimed one wicket each to contribute in bundling out the Sri Lanka batters. For the visitors, Harshitha Samarawickrama scored 33 runs while skipper Chamari Athapaththu contributed 31 runs to take their side a little above the 100-run mark. Rest of the batters failed to showcase any courage in front of a disciplined Indian bowling line-up.
Shafali's record fifty
Meanwhile, enroute her match-winning knock, Shafali etched her name in record books for most 50-plus scores before turning 22 in the women's T20I games, surpassing Stafanie Taylor's record.
Most 50+ scores before turning 22 in WT20Is (FM teams)
12 - Shafali Verma
*10 - Stafanie Taylor
10 - Gaby Lewisin
7 - Jemimah Rodrigues
The comfortable run-chase also helped India script a record for highest run-rate in a 50-plus partnership for IND women in T20I.
Highest run-rate in a 50-plus partnership for IND-W in T20I
14.25 (57 off 24) - Mithali Raj, J Rodrigues vs SL, Katunayake, 2018
13.54 (70 off 31) - Rocha Ghosh, Raghvi Bist vs WI, DY Patil, 2024
12.88 (58 off 27) - J Rodrigues, Shafali Verma vs SL, Vizag, 2025
*12.53 (94 off 45) - Harleen Deol, S Mandhana vs ENG, Nottingham, 2025
On the other hand, India women now have won 9 of their last 11 matches against the Sri Lanka side in the T20I format since 2020. Sri Lanka's last T20I win against India in India had come back in 2014. Since then, they've lost all five matches they've played there.
The third T20I of the five-match series will played on Friday, December 26.