Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma were, simply, on fire on Sunday (December 28). Mandhana scored 80 (48), and Verma smashed a slightly quicker 79 (46), in a sensational 162-run partnership against Sri Lanka to lay the foundation for India scoring a massive 221/2 in the first innings.
It was also the highest-ever partnership for India for any wicket in women’s T20Is, and the first ever to cross the 150-run mark. It broke the record held by the same pair, for the same wicket — 143 runs in the first innings against the West Indies at Gros Islet in 2019. Even overall in women’s T20Is, this was among the highest partnership scores for matches involving two full-member nations.
After opting to bat, the pair dominated the bowling from
the outset, scoring 61 runs in the powerplay and gradually increasing the pace. Though both got out in quick succession, the time was ripe for India to promote the swashbuckling Richa Ghosh, who added the finishing touches with a blazing 40 not out off just 16 balls.
“The conversation with me and Shafali is very simple,” Mandhana said in the mid-innings break. “We just tell each other to keep watching the ball. And the way she was going at the start, my job was to just keep her on the strike. The way she batted was brilliant to watch. Knowing Shafali, she wouldn’t be conscious of not hitting a six after 50. I think she wants to hit every ball for six. But, I mean, she has really matured as a player. Especially post six overs. She keeps talking how she wants to evolve her game.”
“She came in as a child prodigy but now she’s getting into understanding her game more, understanding the situation more. And, also, she recognises more about which bowlers to hit and which areas to hit. We’ve had a lot of conversations around how she can play in terms of post six overs as well and trying to hit the pockets,” Mandhana added.
The match was also good for the openers’ individual records. Shafali notched her third successive half-century of the series, becoming only the third Indian cricketer to do so in T20Is, and Mandhana rushed past 10,000 runs in international cricket, becoming only the fourth women ever to do so.
