India put on a ruthless show in the Women's T20 Asia Cup, bowling out arch-rivals Pakistan for a mere 55 and then chasing the target down inside nine overs for the loss of three wickets. But the real talking point of the match was opener Shafali Verma, known across the cricket world as 'Lady Sehwag', who fell cheaply yet still managed to write a fresh world record with the very first ball of India's innings.
How the match unfolded
Chasing Pakistan's paltry total of 55 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India sent out Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma to open the innings. Facing the very first delivery from bowler Sadia Iqbal, Shafali lofted the ball over long-off and out of the ground for a six. She did not last long after that and was dismissed cheaply, but by then she had already etched her name into the record books. India completed the chase in the ninth over, losing three wickets along the way.
A feat repeated for the first time ever
This was not the first time Shafali had pulled off this trick. She has now hit a six off the first ball of a Women's T20 International innings twice, and remarkably, both instances came against Pakistan and both times off bowler Sadia Iqbal. With this, Shafali became the first batter in the format's history to achieve this feat twice.
Only two other batters share this record
Apart from Shafali Verma, only two other batters in Women's T20 International history have hit a six off the first ball of an innings: Ireland's Amy Hunter and Papua New Guinea's Holan Doriga. Both of them, however, have done it just once each. Amy Hunter was the first to achieve this milestone, doing so in 2025, which means Shafali is now the only player to have repeated the feat.
Youngest to reach 3000 T20I runs
Shafali scored 12 runs off 6 balls in the match, taking her overall Women's T20 International career tally past the 3000-run mark. With that, she became the youngest batter in the world to reach this milestone, achieving it at the age of 22 years and 220 days. In doing so, she broke the record held by Ireland's Gaby Lewis, who had reached 3000 runs at the age of 24 years and 347 days. India's Smriti Mandhana sits fourth on this list, having completed her 3000 T20I runs at the age of 27 years and 171 days.
