Under the bright lights in Visakhapatnam, Shafali Verma once again showed why she is one of India’s most exciting batters in the shortest format. Opening the innings in the second T20I against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, December 23, the young right-hander played a confident and free-flowing knock to guide India to a convincing victory.
Chasing a modest target of 129 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Shafali Verma remained unbeaten on 69 and made the chase look effortless. She struck the ball cleanly from the start, finding the boundary 11 times and clearing the ropes once during her stay at the crease. Her innings set the tone for India’s pursuit and ensured there were no real alarms along the way.
Shafali Verma built useful partnerships at every stage of the chase. She added 29 runs for the opening wicket with Smriti Mandhana, who scored 14, before putting on 58 runs for the second wicket with Jemimah Rodrigues, who contributed 26. Later, she shared a 41-run stand with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who made 10, as India cruised home with plenty of overs to spare.
For her match-winning effort, Shafali Verma was named the Player of the Match. This award was her eighth in women’s T20 internationals for India, helping her move past Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, both of whom have won the honour seven times. Only two Indian batters now sit ahead of her on the all-time list. Former captain Mithali Raj leads with 12 Player of the Match awards from 89 T20Is, followed by Harmanpreet Kaur, who has claimed 11 such awards in 184 matches. Shafali is now third, with eight awards from 92 games.
Earlier in the match, India’s bowlers played a key role in setting up the win. Spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani picked up two wickets each, while pacer Kranti Gaud and spin all-rounder Sneh Rana claimed one wicket each, conceding 21 and 11 runs respectively. India chased down the target in just 11.5 overs to win by seven wickets.
The victory gives India a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. With three matches remaining in Thiruvananthapuram, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side needs just one more win to seal the series. After the series concludes, the players will shift focus to the Women’s Premier League 2026, scheduled to run from January 9 to February 5.
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