Shafali Verma produced a memorable innings for India in the Asian Games 2026 semifinal against Bangladesh on Sunday, scoring her maiden T20I century. The 22-year-old reached her fifty from only 24 balls before completing her first hundred in the format from 49 balls. She finished unbeaten on 100, hitting nine sixes and three fours. Her innings came after she had already made a strong impact at the recently concluded Women’s Asia Cup 2026 in the UAE. There, she scored three half-centuries and finished as the leading scorer with 236 runs.
Shafali’s hundred also created a special record in the Asian Games. She became the first-ever woman cricketer to score a century in the history of the women’s cricket event at the Asian Games. She reached the milestone with the final delivery of India’s innings against Bangladesh in the second semifinal in Nisshin. Her score of 100 not out also became the highest individual score in a women’s cricket match at the Asian Games. She went past Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, who had scored an unbeaten 83 against Pakistan in the first semi-final earlier on Sunday.
The Indian opener had already shown her form in the quarterfinal against Japan, where she made an unbeaten 40 from 15 balls. Against Bangladesh, she carried that momentum forward and added 72 runs for the opening wicket with Smriti Mandhana, who made 37. After Mandhana’s dismissal, G Kamalini scored three from 10 balls, but Shafali kept India moving. She then put together another important stand of 94 runs for the third wicket with captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Harmanpreet stayed at one end with a 33-ball 40 while Shafali attacked the Bangladesh bowlers.
Shafali moved into the nineties with back-to-back sixes off Nahida Akter in the 17th over. India then lost Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh in quick succession, leaving Shafali with the task of reaching her first three-figure score in white-ball cricket. She finally got there with a single off Shorna Akter, sending the ball through outside off and past cover-point. The moment completed her maiden T20I century and made her only the third Indian woman to score a hundred in T20Is. Smriti Mandhana had previously scored two T20I centuries, while Harmanpreet Kaur had one.
The innings added several more records to Shafali’s name. She became the second Indian across genders to score a hundred at the Asian Games, after Yashasvi Jaiswal made 100 in 2023. The first century in the history of the Asian Games came from Pakistan’s Khalid Latif, who scored 103 not out against China in 2010. Shafali’s hundred also took her to 815 runs in women’s T20Is in 2026, moving her to second in the calendar-year run list, only nine runs behind South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt. Her nine sixes took her total to 35 sixes in women’s T20Is this year.
With 35 sixes, Shafali moved to the top of the list for most sixes in a calendar year in women’s T20Is. The previous record was held by Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu, who hit 32 sixes in 2024, while India captain Harmanpreet Kaur had struck 25 in 2018. India finished their innings on 195/4 from 20 overs, with Shafali’s unbeaten century providing the main push. The result of the semifinal will decide who joins Sri Lanka in the gold medal clash on September 22.
Sri Lanka had defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the first semi-final earlier on Sunday. Shafali’s knock underlined her excellent run of form and gave India a strong total before Bangladesh began its chase in the semifinal and gave the Indian side confidence for the knockout contest on Sunday.
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Source: femalecricket.com
