Asian Games: Shafali’s record century powers India to 195/4 against Bangladesh

Shafali Verma smashed an unbeaten 100 off 49 balls as India posted 195/4 against Bangladesh in the Asian Games semifinal. Her nine sixes set a new calendar-year record in women’s T20Is, while Smriti Mandhana also reached a milestone.

Nisshin: Shafali Verma smashed her maiden white-ball century to guide India to a strong total of 195/4 in the Asian Games semifinal against Bangladesh at the Korogi Sports Park here on Sunday.

Shafali made an unbeaten 100 from 49 balls and became the first-ever player to hit a hundred in the women’s Asian Games. The opener smashed three fours and nine sixes in her stroke-filled knock to take the Women in Blue near 200.

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Shafali’s nine sixes also set the record for the most by a female cricketer in T20Is in a calendar year. She surpassed Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu in the record list and now has 35 maximums in 2026.

Coming into the game, the Indian opener had hit 26 sixes and was six behind Athapaththu’s 32 maximums in 2024. The star Indian batter surpassed the Sri Lankan skipper with her stellar knock.

Most sixes in a calendar year in Women’s T20Is:

• 35 – Shafali Verma in 2026
• 32 – Chamari Athapaththu in 2024
• 25 – Chamari Athapaththu in 2026
• 25 – Harmanpreet Kaur in 2018
• 21 – Sophie Devine in 2018
• 21 – Sophie Devine in 2020
• 21 – Fatima Sana in 2026

The nine sixes are also the joint-most in an innings in women’s T20Is, joining the West Indies duo of Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin. While Shafali made an unbeaten 100, captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored 40 from 33 deliveries with six fours. The other opener, Smriti Mandhana, had earlier scored 37 from 19 balls.

During her 37-run knock, Mandhana also became the leading run-scorer in men’s and women’s T20I cricket. The Indian vice-captain surpassed former New Zealand cricketer Suzie Bates to top the run-scorers’ list. She now has 4788 runs in 171 innings.

Coming into the game, Mandhana had 4751 runs in 170 innings and needed to score only eight to go past the New Zealand icon, and she did that pretty early in her innings when she hit a couple of fours in her first seven balls with two singles too.

Mandhana and Bates were already above the leading run-scorer in men’s T20Is, Babar Azam, and have now created a further gap over him.

Most runs in T201 cricket (men’s and women’s):

• 1- Smriti Mandhana: 4,788 runs
• 2 – Suzie Bates: 4,758 runs
• 3 – Babar Azam: 4,596 runs
• 4 – Jos Buttler: 4,292 runs
• 5 – Harmanpreet Kaur: 4,287 runs