Shafali Verma smashed a 95-ball ton in a Senior Women’s Multi-Day Challenger Trophy match at Dehradun.
India Women have not played a Test match since the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, but they have played in the other two formats. Following a poor run, Verma had found herself out of contention for an opener’s spot in the national side. Grabbing the opportunity with both hands, the uncapped Pratika Rawal did enough to threaten Verma’s place in the longer run.
However, she was in excellent from at the 2025 WPL, where no one scored more than her 304 runs at a strike rate better than her 153. She hit 16 sixes in the tournament. Ash Gardner, the only one who hit more (18), faced 51 more balls.
A day and a half after her team Delhi Capitals lost in the WPL final, Verma completed a hat-trick in the U23 pre-quarter-final, for Haryana against Karnataka.
Despite leaving her out of the squads, the BCCI included her when they announced the central Annual Player Retainership Contracts for the 2024/25 season. Verma got a Grade B contract, along with Renuka Singh Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Richa Ghosh. Only three cricketers earned a Grade A, while nine were given a Grade C.
Shafali Verma continues red-hot form
That was on March 24. The next day, Verma opened batting for Team C against Team D in the Senior Women’s Multi-Day Challenger Trophy. Her team became 10-2, but by the time captain Rodrigues was third out for 26, they had already reached 113. Verma took only 95 balls to bring up her hundred. She eventually fell for a 104-ball 108, studded with 19 fours.
It is worth a mention that Verma has 567 runs in Test cricket at 63.00. In the history of women’s Test cricket, only Annabel Sutherland (586 runs at 83.71) and Denise Annetts (819 at 81.90) have more runs than her at a better average.
