Shafali Verma’s Comeback Reaches a Defining Moment with Historic Hundred

 

PC- X/ BCCI

Anjana Sasi

India stormed into the Asian Games women’s cricket final with a commanding 114-run victory over Bangladesh on Sunday, but the evening belonged to Shafali Verma, whose unbeaten 100 off 49 balls powered India to 195/4 before Nandini Sharma and the bowling attack dismantled the Bangladesh chase.

Bangladesh were bowled out for 81 in 15.4 overs, sending India into another final against Sri Lanka, just as in the recent Asia Cup.

For Shafali, it was more than just a big score. It was a first century in women’s cricket at the Asian Games and her first T20I century. More importantly, it marked another milestone in her journey since she was left out of India’s original squad for the 2025 ODI World Cup.

A year ago, Shafali was not even supposed to be part of India’s World Cup campaign. Pratika Rawal’s injury changed that. Called up as a replacement, Shafali walked into a tournament from which she had initially been excluded and went on to play a decisive role in India’s historic triumph. Her 87 in the final against South Africa, along with two wickets, helped India win their first Women’s ODI World Cup.

On Sunday at Korogi Sports Park, she looked every bit the player India now expect to deliver on the biggest occasions.

India began strongly through Smriti Mandhana, who made 37 from 19 balls. The opening pair added 72 before Mandhana departed, giving Bangladesh an opportunity to slow the innings down. Instead, Shafali settled in and gradually took control.

What stood out was not just the power but the way she used it. She did not go looking for a boundary from every delivery. She waited for the bowlers to offer something in her hitting areas and then attacked. A short ball was pulled, anything in the slot was driven or launched, and when Bangladesh protected the boundary, she found other scoring options.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s arrival gave India another layer of stability. She scored 40 from 33 balls and shared a 94-run partnership with Shafali. That allowed Shafali to take greater risks without India losing their shape.

Once she moved through fifty, the innings gathered momentum. Nine sixes and three fours eventually took her to a hundred from 49 balls, with the landmark coming from the final delivery of India’s innings. There was no sudden change in approach or attempt to manufacture the milestone. She simply played the shots available to her and reached three figures in the same aggressive manner that had carried her there.

Bangladesh needed an exceptional start to make a chase of 196 competitive. Instead, India’s bowlers kept finding breakthroughs. Nandini was particularly effective as Bangladesh struggled to build partnerships, while the pressure of the asking rate grew with every wicket.

By the time Bangladesh slipped to 44/4 after 7.4 overs, India were in complete control. With 195 behind them, India’s bowlers could attack rather than defend. Bangladesh needed someone to build a long innings, but that partnership never came. They were eventually dismissed for 81 in 15.4 overs.

The result was emphatic, but India’s performance was not only about Shafali’s hundred. The batting created the pressure and the bowling capitalised on it. Bangladesh never found a sustained period in either innings when they could shift the momentum.

For Shafali, however, the afternoon felt different.

It is easy to forget how young she was when she first arrived on the international scene. She made her India debut at 15 and immediately attracted attention with an approach that was unusual in Indian women’s cricket. She was willing to attack from the first over and did not appear intimidated by reputation or the quality of the bowling.

The spectacular innings came quickly. So did some of the failures. As expectations around her grew, so did the scrutiny.

Shafali was no longer simply a talented teenager. She was increasingly viewed as one of the faces of India’s next generation. There were innings in which she could take a game away from the opposition in a matter of overs, followed by dismissals that raised questions about whether her aggression needed greater control.

Then came the omission from India’s original 2025 ODI World Cup squad. For a player who had been part of India’s international set-up since her teenage years, it was a difficult moment. But it also gave her an opportunity to step back, work on her game and wait for another chance. That chance came through Pratika’s injury.

Sunday’s hundred suggests that the comeback has moved into another phase.

Shafali’s achievements were already substantial before she reached three figures in Nisshin. She became the youngest player to reach 1,000 T20I runs and rose to No. 1 in the women’s T20I batting rankings. In 2023, she captained India to the inaugural Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup title. In Test cricket, she showed another side of her game with a remarkable 205 against South Africa in 2024.

But statistics tell only part of the story. The most noticeable change in Shafali’s cricket has been in her judgement. The aggression remains exactly what India need from her. What has improved is her understanding of when to use it. She appears more comfortable taking the single, waiting for the bowler to make a mistake and then capitalising on it.

That was evident against Bangladesh. Her partnership with Mandhana remains one of India’s most valuable combinations. Mandhana brings timing and placement; Shafali brings power and disruption. They present two very different problems to an opposition captain in the Powerplay.

But Shafali’s value to India is no longer restricted to the first six overs. When Mandhana departed, she stayed. She negotiated the middle overs, built the partnership with Harmanpreet and then took responsibility for finishing the innings herself.

There is a certain irony in the way her journey has unfolded. She returned to India’s World Cup squad because an injury created a vacancy. She then helped India win the World Cup. Now, less than a year later, she has produced a century in an Asian Games semi-final and taken India into another final.

Sri Lanka now stand between India and another gold medal, bringing back memories of the Asia Cup final between the two sides. But before that contest, India’s emphatic victory over Bangladesh leaves one clear image from Korogi Sports Park: Shafali Verma, who once needed a second chance to get back into India’s plans, now looking like one of the players India are building those plans around.

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