Shafali Verma has showcased her worth in the Women's World Cup 2025 final as she notched up a scintillating half-century for India.
Batting first, India
are 166 for 2, largely due to Shafali, who scored 87 off 78 deliveries, hitting 7 fours and 2 sixes so far.
Shafali Verma came in the Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 as a late replacement for Pratika Rawal, who got injured during the tournament.
Verma was officially approved by the Event Technical Committee to join the India squad after Rawal's ankle injury in the league match against Bangladesh. Before this, Shafali was not included in the original World Cup squad but was actively playing domestic cricket and performing well, which kept her in the selectors' radar.
When called up, she brought energy and aggressive batting to the team. Despite a quiet semi-final, she has now made a strong impact in the final by scoring a quick fifty. Her selection was based on her recent good form in domestic and A-team cricket and the team's need for a dynamic opener after Rawal's injury.
Shafali Verma Unique Facts
Disgusing herself as her Brother and Banned
She started playing cricket at the age of 8 and initially disguised herself as her brother to play in boys' cricket tournaments because girls were often discouraged from participating. She was once banned from male-only tournaments for safety concerns, so her father trained her instead.
Youngest Indian to play all three formats
Her fearless, aggressive batting style and power-hitting have made her one of the most feared openers in women's cricket. She holds the record of being the youngest player, male or female, to represent India in all three international formats.
First Women Cricketer to hit 3 Sixes in Tests
Shafali Verma also notched up another record when she smashed 3 sixes in a match, thus becoming the first woman cricketer do so, in India's one-off Test against England at Bristol in June 2021. This was her Test debut, and her aggressive batting helped her create history. Shafali's innings included 13 fours and 3 sixes, contributing to a valiant knock of 63 runs in the second innings and earlier 96 in the first innings.
