Shafali Varma Scripts History, Becomes First Indian Women Cricketer To...

Shafali Verma added another feather to her cap when she walked out at Kingsmead, Durban, for her 100th T20I on Sunday. In the second T20I against the South Africa women’s national cricket team, Shafali not only became the youngest Indian woman to reach the milestone but also the first Indian female batter to score a fifty-plus knock in her 100th T20I.

At 22 years and 81 days, she is now the youngest Indian woman to play 100 T20Is, surpassing Jemimah Rodrigues, who had achieved the feat at 23 years and 327 days during the Women’s Asia Cup 2024.

Globally, Shafali is the third-youngest to the landmark, behind Gisele Ishimwe and Henriette Ishimwe. She also becomes only the fifth Indian woman to feature in 100 T20Is, joining an elite list that includes

Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Rodrigues.

Youngest to Play 100 Women’s T20Is

Gisele Ishimwe (RWA) – 20y 362d

Henriette Ishimwe (RWA) – 21y 233d

Shafali Verma (IND) – 22y 81d

Shafali top-scored with 57 off 38 balls, hitting two sixes and seven fours. Her knock powered India to 147 in 20 overs after a lower-order collapse. She is now the first Indian female batter to register a fifty-plus score in her 100th T20I, and overall, only the second Indian player to do so after Rohit Sharma.

Indian Batters (Men & Women) In Their 100th T20I

Smriti Mandhana – DNB

Harmanpreet Kaur – 1

Deepti Sharma – 0

Virat Kohli – 35

Rohit Sharma – 85

Hardik Pandya – 5*

Suryakumar Yadav – 32

A tricky Kingsmead pitch with variable bounce kept Indian batters in check as South Africa’s bowlers executed their plans well. After early blows from Chloe Tryon (3/22), who removed Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma and Anushka steadied things briefly. However, despite reaching her 15th T20I fifty, Shafali fell soon after, triggering a collapse.

From 99/2, India slipped to 109/4 and then lost eight wickets for just 48 runs. Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune (3/31) and Nadine de Klerk varied pace effectively. India now trail the five-match series 0-1.