First class entry: Opener Shafali Verma packs a punch in her Test debut

CHENNAI:  As Shafali Verma began trudging back to the dressing room after falling four runs short of a Test century in her debut innings against England women in Bristol on Thursday there was a collective sigh of despair.

While there was plenty to savour in her stroke-filled 96, a hundred in her maiden Test innings would have been the icing on the cake. But she wasn’t done just yet.

On Friday, after India were bundled out for 231 in the first innings and made to follow on, Shafali was at her dominant best again, piercing the gaps with a flourish on the way to her second half-century of the game.

She is now the first Indian woman to score twin half-centuries on Test debut. At the close of play on a rain-marred third day, she was unbeaten on 55.       

Her rapid rise at the highest level has been nothing short of remarkable. Here is a 17-year-old — having never played a competitive first-class game — playing on her Test debut as if it is a tennis-ball game in the dusty by-lanes of Rohtak, without a sense of fear or apprehension.

The simple, uncluttered approach has already earned her comparisons with Virender Sehwag. Sehwag, of course, had a penchant for reaching big landmarks with a six, and Shafali perhaps tried to do the same in the first innings.

“Whenever a batter gets out in the 90s, there is only disappointment. I was also disappointed. But this innings will give me a lot of confidence. The next time I am in this situation, I will look to convert it into a century. I look to learn from every series that I play,” the youngster had said at the close of play on Thursday.

While her attacking instinct has been a cause for much excitement, a solid defence and an awareness to keep out the good balls are also essential against the red ball in English conditions.

Shafali seems aware of that and says that she worked on choosing the right balls to hit in the lead-up to her debut.

“Ahead of this game, I was working on choosing the right balls to hit and also working on my fitness,” she said. “It feels good when I contribute for the team. I just want to keep this going.” 

Brief scores: England women 396/9 decl. India women 231 in 81.2 overs & (f/o) 83/1 in 24.3 overs (S Verma 55 not out).