‘Thik hai par consistency chahiye’ – Fans react as Shafali Verma smashes quickfire 67 runs against Malaysia Women in Asian Games 2023

21 September 2023 was a historical day for India’s cricket as it was the first time when a cricket team from India participated in this tournament. India’s Men’s team are yet to play but India’s Women’s team took on Malaysia Women in Hangzhou in the first quarter-final. Due to having higher rankings, India Women were scheduled to play the quarter-final directly.

Speaking of the match, the Malaysia Women’s skipper, Winifred Duraisingam won the toss and opted to bowl first. For India, Shafali Verma and skipper, Smriti Mandhana came out as openers. However, they gave a blistering start to their team and crossed the 50-run mark during the fifth over. On the second delivery of the sixth over, Mandhana got out for 27 runs and it was a 57-run opening partnership.

Shafali Verma smashed four fours and five sixes in her innings 

But, after 5.4 overs, rain came and covers came on the ground. After a pause of one hour, the game resumed and the match was reduced to a 15-over game for each side. Then, Shafali continued to hit big shots and reached her fifty in 31 balls. She and Jemimah Rodrigues put up an 86-run partnership for the second wicket before Shafali got out on 67 runs off 39 balls, including four fours and five sixes. Then, Richa Ghosh came out to bat at number four and showed her power game. 

In seven balls, she scored 21* runs with three fours and one six. Hence, India finished their 15 overs with a score of 173 runs for two wickets. In reply, Ainna Hamizah Hashim and Duraisingam came out to open for Malaysia but after just two balls into the innings, the rain came and no further play happened. Hence, the match was called off and due to having higher rankings, India Women qualified for the semi-final. They will play their semi-final on 24 September at the same venue. Meanwhile, Shafali Verma became the first Indian to score a fifty in the history of this tournament.

Here is how fans have reacted:    

https://twitter.com/aditisinghSA/status/1704713248044658931