NEW DELHI: Shafali Verma continued her sensational run in T20I cricket in 2026, rewriting one other file throughout India’s Asian Video games gold-medal conflict towards Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
The India opener grew to become the best run-scorer in a calendar yr in ladies’s T20Is, surpassing South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt. Shafali’s 29-ball 48 within the gold-medal match took her tally for the yr to 863 runs, shifting previous Wolvaardt’s 824.
Shafali’s innings at Korogi Sports activities Park featured three fours and three sixes and got here at a strike price of 165.52. Though she fell in need of one other half-century, her newest contribution prolonged a exceptional run within the shortest format.
In 24 T20Is in 2026, Shafali has now scored 863 runs at a mean of 39.22 and a strike price of 162.83. Her tally contains one century and 7 fifties, with a greatest rating of 100 not out.
Wolvaardt, in the meantime, has scored 824 runs in 24 matches this yr at a mean of 43.36 and a strike price of 138.72. Her tally contains two centuries and 4 fifties, with a better of 126 not out.
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Most runs in a calendar yr in Ladies’s T20Is
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863 – Shafali Verma (IND-W) in 2026*
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824 – Laura Wolvaardt (SA-W) in 2026
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800 – Natasha Miles (HKG-W) in 2026
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779 – Esha Oza (UAE-W) in 2025
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779 – Yasmin Daswani (HKG-W) in 2026
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Shafali’s unimaginable knockout run
Shafali’s record-breaking yr has been pushed by a rare sequence of performances in knockout matches because the 2025 Ladies’s World Cup remaining.
After scoring 87 towards South Africa within the World Cup remaining, she has maintained her aggressive strategy throughout the Asia Cup and Asian Video games. Her scores in her final 5 T20Is learn 64, 68, 40 not out, 100 not out and 48.
She scored 64 off 40 balls towards Bangladesh within the Asia Cup semifinal earlier than following it with 68 off 39 within the remaining towards Sri Lanka.
On the Asian Video games, Shafali smashed 40 not out from simply 15 balls towards Japan within the quarterfinal earlier than producing a spectacular unbeaten 100 off 49 balls towards Bangladesh within the semifinal.
Her 48 towards Sri Lanka within the remaining accomplished a rare stretch of six innings during which she has amassed 407 runs at a mean of 101.75, together with one century and three fifties.
Shafali Verma’s final 5 T20I scores
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100* (49), Asian Video games SF
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48 (29), Asian Video games Last
Mandhana-Shafali lengthen partnership file
Shafali’s newest milestone got here on the identical day she and Smriti Mandhana prolonged their file as essentially the most prolific partnership in ladies’s T20I cricket.
The pair’s opening stand of 99 towards Sri Lanka took their combination partnership tally past 4,000 runs. Mandhana and Shafali have now mixed for 4,080 runs in 107 matches at a mean of 39.23, together with six century partnerships and 26 fifty-plus stands.
The UAE pair of Esha Oza and Theertha Satish are second on the record with 2,949 partnership runs, adopted by Australia’s Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney with 2,720.
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Most partnership runs in Ladies’s T20Is (any wicket)
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4080 – Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma (IND-W)
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2949 – Esha Oza, Theertha Satish (UAE-W)
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2720 – Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney (AUS-W)
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2556 – Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine (NZ-W)
