England lost not one, but two games in a day as the Indian women's cricket team defeat the home side by 8 runs in the second T20I at the 1st Central County Ground Hove.
India's opening batter Shafali Verma went all guns blazing in the powerplay and scored runs just through boundaries. She even hit five consecutive boundaries against veteran England pacer Katherine Brunt.
Opening the batting with Smriti Mandhana, Verma started to comfortably outscore her senior opening partner in the powerplay. She hit her first boundary off Brunt in the second over and then hit a four and a six against Sophie Ecclestone in the third over.
With Brunt bowling her second over in a row, Verma made use of the fielding restrictions. She found gaps at the County Ground and appeared to be enjoying hitting the ball.
It was on the penultimate delivery that England wicket-keeper Amy Jones decided to keep up to Verma to minimize her footwork. The move, however, did not reap any fruits as Verma hit the last two deliveries over the in-field on the leg-side.
WATCH:
5 in a row from @TheShafaliVerma Katherine BURNT
Super stuff, let's keep it going! #ENGvIND #ShafaliVerma #ENGWvINDW pic.twitter.com/Tmdj0pYQcT
— Drishti Bagla (@Drishtie09) July 11, 2021
Soon after Twitter was flooded with praises for the young batsman.
Shafali Verma vs Katherine Brunt:
1st T20I: Brunt dismisses Verma for a duck 2nd T20I: Verma smashes the bowler for five fours in a row #ENGvIND | https://t.co/C1nDdBn3N5 pic.twitter.com/GgMiGYUpB0
— ICC (@ICC) July 11, 2021
Love the from @TheShafaliVerma after that Brunt over. Can she keep it going? #ENGvIND
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) July 11, 2021
Shafali Verma is on the attack and it’s Katherine who’s bearing the in the second T20I #ENGWvINDW #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings pic.twitter.com/6XI40ihJw2
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) July 11, 2021
Shafali Verma is just fearless, total team player and always looking to score without looking on her score, a calculative play.
— Bhawana (@bhawnakohli5) July 11, 2021
Shafali's presence in the team is Angelic Blessed with the best Back to back 5 4's #shafaliverma pic.twitter.com/pjtlsVWecO
— Hiya Shah (@jemi_smriti_fan) July 11, 2021
The third T20I will be on July 14 at the Essex County Cricket Club. The two sides are tied on 1-1 each and the last T20I could be the deciding factor.