Shafali Verma’s unbeaten 100 sets up India’s Asian Games gold
Shafali Verma struck an unbeaten 100 off 49 balls for India against Bangladesh in the semifinal of the women’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Sunday, and India went on to secure the gold two days later by defeating Sri Lanka in the final.
Smriti Mandhana watched from the dugout and applauded as Shafali took a single off Shorna Akter off the final ball of the innings, removed her helmet, was embraced by partner Bharti Fulmali and raised her bat to acknowledge the crowd. The century was Shafali’s maiden hundred in white-ball cricket; she is 22 and made her India debut seven years ago.
In the semifinal India posted 195 for four, powered by a 72-run opening stand between Shafali and Smriti, the latter making 37 off 19 balls, and then bowled Bangladesh out for 81 to win by 114 runs.
Two days later India reached 216 for three in the final after Smriti and Shafali added 99 for the first wicket inside 10 overs, with Richa Ghosh contributing as a finisher, and Sri Lanka were bowled out for 69 as the Indian spinners shared the wickets; India won the final by 147 runs to claim the country’s first Asian Games gold in women’s cricket.
India’s spin attack included 22-year-old left-arm spinner Shree Charani, who made her international debut last year, is the No. 1 bowler in T20Is and became the first Indian woman to cross ICC’s 800-point mark. Seamer Kranti Gaud, a year older than Shree Charani, took fewer wickets at the Asia Cup and the Asian Games but produced a five-wicket spell in England’s first innings at Lord’s and became the first woman to be named on the Lord’s honours board.
Nandani Sharma’s return catch off Nahida Akter in the semifinal was singled out as one of the tournament moments, and Shafali also contributed with the ball, taking two wickets in each of the matches in which she bowled at the Asian Games. The article notes that Shafali returned to the Indian team as a replacement during the ODI World Cup and has batted strongly since then.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur praised the team’s approach and the bowling unit: “Before the tournament, we talked a lot about staying unbeaten, but more importantly, about playing to the high standards we set for ourselves,” she said. “It is so satisfying to see everyone approach every game with such a positive mindset. Every single player who got an opportunity stepped up and delivered solid performances. As a captain and as a collective, that is exactly what we were looking for. Maintaining an unbeaten run while consistently putting in quality performances is what we expected of ourselves. It is great to see everyone execute that vision with confidence. Our bowling unit deserves special credit because we put a tremendous amount of work into it. Young bowlers like Kranti and Nandani took on massive responsibilities, and the way they responded, especially with their spells in the power-play, was outstanding.” “Shreyanka and Deepti are consistent match-winners,” she said. and always among the leading wicket-takers.
The coverage highlights the balance of experience and youth in India’s side, the captain’s management despite earlier scrutiny, and the contributions of all-rounders such as Deepti Sharma. The piece concludes by noting that India still need to work on their T20 game and must prepare for tougher opposition outside Asia at the Champions Trophy to be held at home next February.
