Key to my partnership with Mandhana is not curbing our instincts, reveals Shafali Verma
India’s teenage sensation Shafali Verma, who set the World T20 alight with her aggressive batting, has revealed that the key to herself and Smriti Mandhana succeeding as openers is the duo not curbing their attacking instincts. Shafali scored 163 runs in the WT20 at a startling strike rate of 158.
It was not so long ago that India foresaw the emergence of a batting prodigy in the form of Smriti Mandhana. The left-hander, who developed a reputation for herself as a batter of the ‘see the ball hit the ball’ mould, through her aggression, established herself as one of the best openers in the world, thanks to her exploits in both international cricket and in T20 leagues across the world.
Two years on, the Women’s team has staggeringly seen yet another extremely aggressive, expressive opener emerge in the form of Shafali Verma. The teenager, who made her international debut at just the age of 15, announced her arrival to world cricket through her explosive batting in the recently concluded Women’s World T20, a tournament where she amassed 163 runs at a staggering strike rate of 158.
Two aggressive opening batsmen coexisting together can be a tricky ask but 16-year-old Shafali revealed that the key to her partnership with Mandhana is that both players pounce on loose deliveries and express themselves, not curbing their natural instincts.
“We (me and Mandhana) would keep it simple. If there is a bad ball, it must be hit and there is no two ways about it,” Shafali told IANS, reported Times of India.
“So, when I get a bad ball, I hit it and same works for her. And when we get a good ball, we try and steal a single out of it. Nothing beats staying true to your game. Trying to curb your natural instincts don't work I feel.”
Having been part of two explosive cameos in the group stages, registering quickfire scores of 29, 39, 46 and 47, the teenager failed to live up to the expectations in the final, scoring just 2 runs. While her attractive style of batting has invited applause from the entire cricketing fraternity, Shafali revealed that victory is what matters most and that winning the World Cup would have given her the ultimate joy.
"My job is to go out there and score runs and put India in an advantageous position. It obviously feels good when people appreciate your performance, but the trophy in the hand would have felt so much better