St Lucia: Fifteen-year-old Shafali Verma broke Sachin Tendulkar’s longstanding record to become the youngest Indian to score an international fifty (49 off 73) in the first T20I against West Indies.
Shafali’s blistering knock powered the Indian women’s team to a convincing 84-run win over Windies, here at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
The opener achieved the feat at 15 years and 285 days, surpassing batting legend Tendulkar, who had notched up his maiden Test fifty at 16 years and 214 days.
Playing in only her fifth T20I, Shafali batted aggressively and smashed six fours and four during her maiden fifty. She was also adjudged as the player of the match.
The Haryana teenager shared a record opening parternship of 143 (India’s highest partnership in women’s T20Is) with Smriti Mandhana (67 off 46 ) to help her team post a challenging total of 185-4 in their stipulated 20 overs after being asked to take bat by the hosts.
For West Indies, Selman and Anisa Mohammad picked two wickets each.
Chasing 186 to win, West Indies struggled to stitch partnerships and were restricted to 101-9 with Shermaine Campbelle top-scoring with a 34 ball 33.
With the win, India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. (UNI)
