Shafali Verma reflects on her match-winning knock, DC's dominant show
Mar 02, 2025
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 2 : Young batter Shafali Verma reflected on her match-winning knock against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday and said she backed herself to stay longer on the crease and was confident of things getting easier for her.
The Delhi Capitals Women Team stormed into the playoffs of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025 with a dominant nine-wicket win over the home side, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, as per a Delhi Capitals press release.
Debutant N Charani and Shikha Pandey scalped two wickets each to restrict the home side to 147/5 in 20 overs. Delhi Capitals then chased down the target in just 15.3 overs, riding on fifties from Shafali Verma and Jess Jonassen.
This was the Delhi Capitals' second consecutive win on back-to-back nights, making them the first team to qualify for the playoffs in the tournament.
Player of the Match Shafali Verma, who scored an unbeaten 80 off 43 balls, said, "As a batter, you have to start from zero every time, even if you're playing on consecutive days. Our bowlers did a great job in the first innings, and our planning has been going well. We've been executing our plans perfectly."
"Early on during the chase, they were getting a lot of assistance, but once we settled in, we were able to play our shots confidently. I backed myself to stay at the crease. I knew that if I spent some time in the middle, my eyesight would adjust, and things would get easier. Once Jess and I settled in, the runs started flowing," she added, as quoted by Delhi Capitals press release
Speaking about her match-winning partnership and her experience playing with Aussie all-rounder Jonassen, who smashed an unbeaten 61 off 38 balls, Verma said, "Playing with JJ is always fun. She's from Australia and has a great mindset, which makes things even better. The left-right combination can be challenging for the opposition."
"The key was communicating and reminding each other to stay till the end. That understanding helped us build a strong partnership. The best part was that we listened to and believed in each other, which made all the difference in playing such a good inning," she concluded.
Delhi Capitals will take on the Gujarat Giants in their last league stage match on March 7 at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
