Shafali Verma created a massive record on the night when the India Women's National Cricket Team moved into the final of the 2026 Women's Asia Cup, defeating the Bangladesh Women's National Cricket Team.
India won the match against Bangladesh on September 10 in the semi-finals and moved into the final of the multi-nation tournament. In the semi-final against Bangladesh, Shafali Verma played a match-defining knock, which helped her earn the Player of the Match award.
Shafali Verma now has 593 women's T20I runs in 2026
The Indian team opener scored 64 runs in a winning effort, facing 40 balls. In her knock, the batter smashed seven 4s and three 6s. With the 64-run knock, Verma touched a record. After the match against the Bangladesh women's national cricket team, she accumulated a total of 593 runs in the ongoing year in the Women's T20 International, accompanied by a strike rate of 151.67.
Ahead of the match, the opener of the team, Smriti Mandhana, was leading the chart. She added only 2 runs against Bangladesh, which took her Women's T20Is total in 2026 to 590 runs in 18 innings with a strike rate of 144.11. Shafali surpassed Smriti Mandhana in 20 innings, with 593 runs under her belt, three runs more than Mandhana's tally.
Shafali Verma surpasses Smriti Mandhana
India women's team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is in the third spot on the list of records with 465 runs in 18 innings, followed by another middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues, who has so far got 345 runs in 16 innings this year. At the fifth spot, it is Richa Ghosh, who has so far claimed 231 runs in 17 innings in the ongoing year with a strike rate of 140.85.
Most Runs for India in Women's T20Is in 2026:
Shafali Verma: 593 runs, 20 innings, Strike rate: 151.67
Smriti Mandhana: 590 runs, 18 innings, Strike rate: 144.11
Harmanpreet Kaur: 465 runs, 18 innings, Strike rate: 128.09
Jemimah Rodrigues: 345 runs, 16 innings, Strike rate: 132.69
Richa Ghosh: 231 runs, 17 innings, Strike rate: 140.85
Shafali Verma shares his hard time batting in Dubai
After the match, Shafali Verma said that batting under the humid conditions of Dubai was not easy for him; sometimes he struggled to breathe as well while batting in the first innings.
"Yeah, there's lots of humidity out there, and even in the middle also, sometimes I can't even breathe, so I just try to inhale, exhale more, and just at the start, I didn't get those balls, but I'm just trying to play, and there's a bit of a chance with the crease. I'm just trying to build my innings, so just this thing happened. Yeah, of course, as I said earlier as well, in the first six overs, it's easy to score runs, so we were just trying to take lots of runs in those six overs, and I know it's my job to hit some sixes and fours in the powerplay, so I'm just trying to do that," Verma said.
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