Shafali Verma Becomes India's Youngest T20I Debutant
Shafali Verma on Tuesday became the youngest T20I debutant for India when she was named in the playing XI for the first T20 against South Africa at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium here.
Shafali, 15, opened the batting for India but was out for a duck. She is the second-youngest player to represent India after Gargi Banerjee.
Shafali earned her India debut on the back of a superb domestic season where she amassed 1,923 runs, including six hundreds and three half-centuries.
What a moment this is for the hard-hitting batter Shafali Verma, who makes her India debut today. She is only 15! 😊💪🏾#INDWvsSAWpic.twitter.com/nD0C6ApQld
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 24, 2019
As far as the result is concerned, Spinner Deepti Sharma bowled three maiden overs in her four-over quota, apart from taking three wickets, as the Indian women's team survived a Mignon du Preez blitz to eke out a 11-run win over South Africa in the first T20I.
Asked to bat, the Indian middle-order struggled to convert starts on a slow pitch, settling for a modest 130 for eight.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur top-scored for the side with a 34-ball 43, the innings containing three fours and two sixes as her other colleagues found the going tough.