OTD| Shafali Verma, aged 15, became youngest Indian to score century against West Indies in 2019

India’s prodigious star, Shafali Verma, became the youngest Indian to score a half-century on this day. She played this knock against West Indies in 2019. She has been one of the bright prospects for India since she made her debut in international cricket. She will be a pivotal figure for the Indian team in the years to come. 

Major Contribution in leading India to a big total

West Indies won the toss and put India to bat first. Shafali Verma proved the decision made by the West Indian skipper wrong. Along with Smriti Mandhana, she gave India a fabulous start as they added 143 runs for the opening partnership. Both openers hit the West Indian bowlers all over the park to put them under tremendous pressure. Hayley Matthews and Afy Fletcher were taken on remand by the Indian batters. 

When these two got out India was in a comfortable position with 146 runs already made in 16.2 overs. This remains Shafali’s career-best figures in T20 cricket. She has made many more half-centuries in her career but very few as impactful as this one because she scored 73 runs off just 49 balls with a fantastic strike rate of 148.97. 

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Convincing victory for India in the end

The Indian batters had put up a challenging total on the board and the West Indians were under tremendous pressure right from the first ball. The Indian bowling attack took advantage of it and restricted them to a miserable total of 101/9 in their run chase. Shemaine Campbelle showed some resilience but her stay was curtailed by a run out. Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav were the pick of the bowlers for India with two wickets each. They were assisted by Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma. India eventually clinched this match by a massive margin of 84 runs. Shafali Verma was adjudged player of the match for her devastating knock which kept West Indies out of the contest right from the start.