Shafali Verma: A debut to remember

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BY THE NUMBERS

One Test
159 runs at 79.50. Scored 96 and 63 on her Test debut.
Two ODIs
59 runs at 29.50 with a strike rate of 85.50.a

AGGRESSION RIGHT OFF THE BAT

Making her Test debut at the age of 17, the expectations were high for Shafali Verma, with everyone having seen her appetite for destruction in the shortest format of the game. India found themselves firmly on the backfoot in Bristol, with England posting a mammoth first innings score of 396 on the board. This did not faze young Shafali though.

She did not trade off her natural aggression for caution, swatting away the English bowlers with a flurry of shots. She scored 96 in 152 deliveries, with her knock consisting of 13fours and two sixes.

She had to face heartbreak though, missing out on a memorable debut ton by only four runs. Her wicket led to an Indian batting collapse, as they only managed to post a score of 231 all out, despite the openers giving them a brilliant start.

MAKING A TELLING EFFORT IN A MEMORABLE RESULT

India found themselves with their backs against the wall with England enforcing the follow-on. In tough conditions, Verma again adopted the aggressive route, not allowing the English bowlers to come out on top. Despite losing her opening partner Smriti Mandhana early on, Verma continued to take the attack to the bowlers. She scored 63 runs in only 83 deliveries, capping off a memorable debut that made everyone sit up and take notice.

Her effort was vital in India drawing the Test match. Sneh Rana (80*) and Taniya Bhatia (44*) ensured that India walked away from Bristol unscathed, sealing one of the more memorable results in the history of the women's team.

A KEY PART OF INDIA'S FUTURE

After her scintillating performance on her debut, Indian skipper Mithali Raj was full of praise for the young Indian opener. Raj claimed that Verma would become a cornerstone of the Indian batting line-up in the future. "She will be very, very important to the Indian batting unit in all formats. She beautifully adapted to this format.

"She didn't go like how she would go bonkers in the T20 format. She played sensibly against the new ball and it's great to have her. She has a great range of shots, and she can be very, very, effective in a format like this if she gets going. In no time, we could see that the score would be somewhere else if she gets going."

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