Smriti Mandhana is considered as one of the key players of India for her stunning form in the opening. However, she is happy with youngster Shafali Verma, the youngster who rose to fame for her flamboyant batting at the top. Mandhana is happy that her burden has become less with Shafali’s presence in the team.
“I used to score a lot of our runs in the last two of three years, especially in the Powerplay, but now with Shafali coming in, she’s getting the runs in the way I do. It makes the team more balanced,” Mandhana said.
“Shafali has been a huge positive coming into the T20 side. The way she’s going about her batting, it’s so easy to bat alongside her,” Smriti Mandhana added on the eve of India’s T20 World Cup group match against New Zealand in Melbourne on Thursday.
Shafali Verma has already scored 68 runs in two games in this World Cup, including five sixes and seven fours, at a stunning strike rate of 212. The teenager, who is making her ICC Women’s T20 World Cup debut in Australia, earned the Player of the Match award for her 39 runs against Bangladesh, a game which Smriti Mandhana missed due to viral.
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“I used to have a major role in Powerplays, but Shafali is getting the quick runs in those first overs now too. She’s made a huge impact and the team has become more balanced thanks to her,” said Mandhana. “routine she likes to follow and no one has gone in and told her she has to change that”.
While talking about Thursday’s match against New Zealand, Mandhana said, “I don’t think we will be going into the game thinking about a total, but we will continue playing the way that is working for all of our batters.”
On the other hand, veteran New Zealand pacer Lea Tahuhu also said that she is looking forward to bowling at Shafali Verma.
“Personally, I love the thought of facing Verma. It makes me fire up a little bit more and I’m really looking forward to playing her,” said Tahuhu. “I actually played her in the T20 Challenge in India last year and I know she’s not going to take a step back.”
