Shafali Verma’s belligerent 64 set the tone before Deepti Sharma’s record-breaking three-wicket burst without conceding a run powered India to a thumping 94-run win over Thailand in their Women’s T20 Asia Cup opener here on Sunday.

The flamboyant opener smashed eight fours and three sixes in her 36-ball knock before Thailand’s spinners, led by Suleeporn Laomi’s three-wicket haul, triggered an inexplicable Indian collapse to restrict the seven-time champions to 159/9.

But the total proved more than enough as Thailand folded for 65 in 16.1 overs, with Deepti, playing in her landmark 150th T20I, claiming three wickets in seven balls without conceding a run to take her tally to 171 wickets, becoming the outright leading wicket-taker in Women’s T20I cricket.

The 29-year-old veteran allrounder, who became the only the third Indian after Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana to reach the 150 T20I landmark, had earlier drawn level with Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong at 170 wickets after taking two wickets in the ninth over to leave Thailand reeling at 44/6.

She returned in the 17th over and struck with her very first delivery to dismiss wicketkeeper-batter Nannapat Koncharoenkai, who had offered Thailand some resistance with a 41-run knock to complete a sensational spell.

Seamers Kranti Goud (1/26) and Nandani Sharma (3/18) removed both Thailand openers inside four overs before left-arm spinner Shree Charani (2/10) and Deepti strangled the chase.

Charani struck twice in successive overs before Deepti produced a double-wicket maiden to virtually end Thailand’s hopes, reducing them to 44/6 inside nine overs.

India, despite their late collapse with the bat, completed a comprehensive victory to begin their Asia Cup campaign in emphatic fashion from Group A.

India next face Hong Kong on Thursday.

For Thailand, this was their first loss after two matches, having begun their campaign with six-run win over Hong Kong on Friday.

Asked to bat, India cruised past 100-run mark in 10 overs, with Shafali smashing her 19th T20I fifty off just 26 balls.

The opener hit eight fours and three sixes in her 36-ball 64 (8×4, 3×6) and looked set to propel India to a 200-plus total before the innings unravelled.

India lost four wickets for 21 runs as Laomi’s variations, drift and flight exposed the middle order.

The 28-year-old leg-spinner finished with 3/26, including two wickets in two balls off Shafali and Richa Ghosh, while off-spinner Sunida Chaturongrattana claimed 2/31.

India had a flying start with Smriti Mandhana (19; 10b) taking on the attack before a brilliant direct hit from Aphisara Suwanchonrathi cut short the Indian vice-captain’s innings.

Thereafter Shafali took on left-arm spinner Thipatcha Putthawong with successive boundaries before advancing down the track to hit Sunida for a six and a four.

She then charged Laomi and cleared long-off for a six and raced to her fifty.

Laomi then struck against the run of play, removing Pratika Rawal, who was cleaned up for 22 off 18 balls by a delivery that darted back in and crashed into her leg stump.

The ODI specialist Rawal was drafted into the playing XI at No 3 for her T20I debut in place of the injured Jemimah Rodrigues.

Momentum was still with India with 100/2 at the halfway stage.

But captain Harmanpreet Kaur fell for five, edging a sweep to give Putthawong her 170th T20I wicket.

The biggest blow came in the following over when Laomi struck twice in two balls.

Shafali attempted to take on a slower, tossed-up delivery but chipped a return catch to the bowler.

Richa then fell for a duck, driving another full delivery straight to extra cover.

Deepti was run out for five as Laomi capped a superb spell with a sharp throw.

Sunida then compounded India’s troubles in the 17th over, dismissing Bharti Fulmali for 13 and Prema Rawat for six in the space of four balls.

At 137/9 in 17.2 overs India were in danger of being bowled out before Kranti Gaud provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 15 off eight balls to take India past the 150-run mark.

Published – August 31, 2026 12:10 am IST

When Radha Yadav ran towards the chance offered by Beth Mooney at long-on, there was tension in the air at Lord’s. Under normal circumstances, you would expect Radha to take the catch with ease; she has taken much tougher, more spectacular ones all through her career. She is one of the best fielders in women’s cricket.

But at the Women’s T20 World Cup, she had been going through a terrible time. She was just failing to catch. It looked like she was incapable of even catching a cold. The 26-year-old did catch Mooney, though. And she was relieved and happy, she threw the ball down furiously.

The Women in Blue celebrated. They had posted what appeared to be a competitive total of 170 for four, thanks largely to skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s brilliant shot-making towards the end. But for her 27-ball 56, Australia would have finished off the match well ahead of schedule.

When Deepti Sharma accounted for Mooney, the Australian scorecard read 68 for three in 9.1 overs. Another 103 runs were still required in less than 11 overs. The Indian players, and the large crowd that came to cheer them on, had reasons to hope.

The one that took it away

Watching Mooney depart was her long-time teammate Ellyse Perry. She was joined by Ashleigh Gardner. Together, they ended India’s hopes of reaching the semifinals.

They forged what was one of the best partnerships you would come across at this level. There was still plenty of batting left for Australia — no team bats as deep as it — but they were determined to finish the job themselves. If one of them had been dismissed, India would have been back in the game. They did not get out until the match was decided. When Perry finally fell, skying a catch to Shafali Verma off the impressive Shree Charani, Australia needed just three to win.

Perry and Gardner showed yet again how crucial they are in a side filled with match-winners. This may be a team in transition, after the retirements of Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy, but it remains well ahead of main rivals like England and India, especially in the shortest format.

In the semifinal against the West Indies at the Oval on Wednesday, Perry had to go back to the dressing room after playing just seven balls, retired hurt. But it was just a precaution, Mooney would later clarify. Gardner had another starring role. She made an unbeaten 35 off 20 balls to help Australia finish the chase of a very modest total with seven overs to spare.

Back in the groove

She had been amongst the wickets, too. That is good news for Australia ahead of Sunday’s final at Lord’s. Gardner is glad to have got her bowling rhythm back.

“I feel like I probably haven’t had the impact that I would have liked, especially with the ball,” she said shortly after winning the Player-of-the-Match award in the last-four clash. “I’ve probably just been a little bit inconsistent. When Sophie (Molineux) has thrown me the ball, I probably haven’t played the role that she has probably wanted.”

But Gardner delivered against the West Indies, taking two for 13. “In this game, I had that type of performance, certainly when it mattered,” she said. “It is always really pleasing. I guess that it gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Shift in mindset

The 29-year-old said it was more of a mindset thing. “I feel like I just tried to make my game really simple. I focused on looking at the stumps when I was bowling. That sounds really silly, but when I was narrowing my focus, I could execute a little better. We knew that keeping the stumps in play for a long period of time, just with the variability in the bounce, really helped.”

Gardner felt that her performance against India was a morale-booster. “Cricket is a very humbling sport at times, but you try to ride that confidence to really utilise it,” she said. “Cricket is such a unique game where you can feel like you are hitting the ball well but then you make no runs. So I guess it is about trying to take out the positives that you can.”

Looking back at Australia’s convincing win over India, Gardner said she enjoyed the 100-run partnership with Perry. “That was one of the best partnerships I have been involved in. There are not too many other people within this unit that I have played so much cricket with. I have played with Perry for well over 10 years now, so we have a great understanding of each other’s game.”

Blindly trusting each other

Both had tremendous trust in each other. “We were really specific and deliberate in the way we were speaking in the middle,” she said. “Understanding each other and giving each other options out there… to have that is pretty cool.”

Perry relished that alliance just as much. “It was a really enjoyable partnership with Ash,” said the woman regarded by many as the greatest female cricketer of all time. “Having had the opportunity to watch the way the first innings played out, we knew that it was sort of possible to accelerate through the middle and back end.”

She was all praise for Gardner’s approach. “The way Ash came out was really important in the context of the game. I thought that she shifted the momentum beautifully. We spoke a lot about targeting the first couple of balls of an over, and she did that incredibly well. It just gave us some momentum in the chase. On a good ground, once you get that, you sort of put yourself in a good position. So, it was a lot of fun.”

Gardner was as effusive in the praise of Perry. “She is like red wine,” Gardner said. “She is someone who has gotten better and better. Just the evolution of her game.. she has known that the global game has gone at such a fast pace and that it doesn’t settle or slow down for anyone. So she knows that she needs to keep up with that pace.”

Gardner admires Perry’s bravery. “It can be quite hard at times when you feel like you don’t have that confidence, but she is someone who always tries to take the game on. For someone with so much experience and so much willingness to keep evolving, it just shows younger players like me that there is no real ceiling on that stuff. She is a fantastic leader within our group, within that space, and generally as well.”

Unique in their own way

While Perry is at the top of her game more often than not, she stressed that every tournament had its own challenges. “This one has been extremely enjoyable and the quality of cricket that has been played right across the competition… the response from the English public to watch the matches has been amazing, too,” she said. “The atmosphere at various grounds has been so cool to play at. Beating India was a real highlight.”

Perry described skipper Molineux as “unique”. “Every captain I play with is unique, but Soph brings a very unique style,” Perry said. “She is such a people’s person. She makes everyone laugh. She knows when to have fun, when to be serious.

“She makes sure that they are heard all the time and are valued for their contribution to the group. I hope that kind of comes across in the way we are playing because it’s been so much fun. It doesn’t guarantee you anything but when you are playing with that kind of enjoyment, it creates an opportunity for a team to do some really good things.”

The two brave women are now ready for the final. They will go into that match at Lord’s with impressive numbers.

Perry has 2,482 T20I runs and 131 wickets, while Gardner, who has played lesser games, has 1,630 runs and 84 wickets.

It is to be recalled that Australia hasn’t won an ICC event since 2023. “Not having any trophies in the cabinet has probably been frustrating over the last 18 months,” Gardner said.

“It is really pleasing that going forward we can take the confidence out of what we have done. Hopefully, we win another trophy on Sunday”.

Deepti Sharma had gone five T20Is in a row without taking a wicket on India’s tours of Australia and South Africa. With the format’s World Cup around the corner, that wasn’t a good sign. But it is unlikely that the Indian team management would have been overly worried.

Deepti was bound to be among the wickets soon. It was only in December that she had gone past Australian quick Megan Schutt to become the world’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is. She had done that against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram, where India completed a 5-0 whitewash.

She, however, lost that spot. When the T20I World Cup got underway in England last week, an unfamiliar name headed the all-time wicket-takers’ list: Thipatcha Putthawong. The young left-arm spinner has not faced the challenge of bowling to the world’s best batters on too many occasions as Thailand is not a full member.

Deepti got back the all-time No. 1 slot during India’s opening match in the Women’s T20 World Cup at Edgbaston. She took five for 10 to help her team score a thumping 64-run victory. Those figures are the best by an Indian at the World Cup. That was also the third best spell in the tournament’s history — after West Indies’ Deandra Dottin (five for five against Bangladesh in 2018) and Sune Luus of South Africa (five for eight against Ireland in 2016).

Dottin and Luus are also playing at this World Cup, and Deepti is due to come up against the latter, as South Africa is in the same ‘Group of Death’. India needs Deepti continues to come up with more shows like that.

Straight second five-for

It was the off-spinning all-rounder’s second straight five-wicket haul in an ICC World Cup match. She had taken five for 39 in the ODI World Cup final against South Africa in Mumbai to play a big role on what was the greatest day for Indian women’s cricket. She had done her bit with the bat as well, making 58.

Against Pakistan here too she played a crucial knock. Her 12 not out was priceless actually, as it was her sixth-wicket partnership with Richa Ghosh that saved the Indian innings from a precarious position. She played the perfect foil to her younger partner, who once again played her role as finisher perfectly.

After the match, Deepti was all praise for Richa’s brilliant knock (34 off 17 balls). “Sometimes the start is good, sometimes the middle overs are very good, but it is equally important how you finish and Richa batted very well,” she said. “If you have a thirty, forty or fifty partnership in the last five to six overs it helps a lot; it sets you up to reach a good total. Richa was striking every ball well, no matter which bowler was coming up against her.”

Deepti said Smriti Mandhana’s half century at the top of the order was important as well. “I think it was unbelievable batting by Smriti and her partnership with Harmanpreet helped us get back the momentum, after losing early wickets,” she said. “We have always thought we have a good batting line-up and it is commendable that we could contribute.”

Self-belief

About her match-winning spell, she said her plan was simple. “I just have the self-belief that whenever such situations arise, I will have to step up,” said Deepti. “And since the wicket was slightly turning, I was landing the balls well. It was just about bowling back-to-back in the good areas.”

About her back-to-back five-wicket hauls in ICC World Cup matches, though in different formats, she said she thrived on pressure. “I like pressure and the ICC tournaments,” she said with a smile. “I feel I have started (at this World Cup) from where I had finished off (at the ODI World Cup). It feels good.”

Deepti’s first World Cup was in England — the ODI variety in 2017. After shocking Australia in the semifinals, thanks, of course, to that unreal innings from Harmanpreet Kaur, India faltered in the final against England at Lord’s.

It wasn’t a memorable final for the 19-year-old Deepti, as she was the ninth wicket to fall, in the penultimate over. The Indian innings folded up in that over, in fact, and fell just nine runs short.

“I think when you look at young Deepti and now senior Deepti, it feels very good,” she said. “Looking back at the earlier matches and the 2017 World Cup, if I look at that, I learned a lot from that World Cup. I learn from every match. I learn from the errors and see in which areas I can be better.”

She has good support, too. “I regularly talk to Aavishkar Salvi and that always helps me,” she said. “I watch my videos, so I think there is always something to learn from every game. It doesn’t matter whether you are winning or not. You are considered a good player only when you think about how to improve (even your good qualities), and every match is important to me. And I am just enjoying it.”

That is pretty obvious when she is out on the field. She makes her presence felt even when she is not batting or fielding. In addition to her five wickets against Pakistan, she had also effected a run-out with a direct hit.

Combative

And she is a very combative player, who just doesn’t shy away from going that extra mile within the rules. Remember how she reduced England Charlie Dean to tears at Lord’s in a tense finish in the third ODI at Lord’s in 2022, by ‘Mankading’.

India doesn’t play Pakistan as often as other teams like England or Australia. She said there was nothing special about it. “I don’t think we felt anything different in this game,” she said. “We always play every game in a different way. But the first game is always special; you get momentum from there. So I can only say that it was a good win (against Pakistan) and a good start for the team. We don’t think about the opponent, we just try to play our best cricket.”

Great support

She said the whole team was enjoying playing the World Cup in England, with so many Indian fans turning out to support the Women in Blue. “Actually I didn’t feel like that we are playing in the UK, to be very honest,” she said. “We have got so much support from the crowd. The fans are cheering for us. It feels like home conditions. It is a good thing. Fans will come and support, and we will do our best and play our best cricket.”

And Deepti will have a vital role to play in this Indian team that is trying to win its second ICC World Cup within a space of a few months. One of India’s trusted servants for many years, she is a woman for all seasons.

Her numbers tell us how significant her contribution has been ever since making her India debut in 2014. She has scored 2771 ODI runs at an average close to 36 and struck 18 fifties and a hundred in 124 matches.

And that hundred was special. She made 188 against Ireland in South Africa in 2017 and added 320 for the opening wicket with Punam Raut, a record that remains unbeaten. She also has 166 ODI wickets.

After Wednesday’s match against the Netherlands at Leeds, she has 1232 runs in 146 T20Is and that world record tally of 167 wickets. She has also notched up four fifties and a five-wicket haul in six Tests.

And she continues to show why she is regarded as one of the best all-rounders in the women’s game, and why her captain has so much faith in her. It may be no exaggeration to say that she is the go-to woman of this Indian team.

Deepti Sharma. Photo: X@BCCIWomen

England women cricket players celebrate their win over India in the women’s cricket World Cup in Indore on October 19, 2025. England sealed their semifinal spot with this win.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

WPL 2025: GG vs UPW Highlights© BCCI

Gujarat Giants will hope their bowlers complement the batters and fielding shows overall improvement after a crushing defeat in the Women’s Premier League season opener, when they take on the UP Warriorz here on Sunday. Gujarat Giants produced a unified batting show to set a commanding 202-run target against the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru but their bowling frailties were exposed in the first game of the season itself when as many as six options also could not contain the opposition batters.

Richa Ghosh was dropped on the first ball she faced and the India wicketkeeper-batter made GG pay a hefty price for the mistake, striking 64 off only 26 balls (7x4s, 4x6s) to quickly turn the tables.

GG’ Tanuja Kanwar had also spilled Ellyse Perry’s catch when she was batting on two. The Australian great too made the most of the reprieve as she hit a 34-ball 57 to anchor RCB’s record chase.

Gujarat Giants had earlier produced a fine batting show with fifties from former skipper Beth Mooney (56) and incumbent leader Ashleigh Gardner (79 not out) propelling them to 201 for five on a fresh surface here at the Kotambi Stadium.

The opening game of the third season here on Friday was not just the highest match aggregate in WPL but also witnessed highest run chase, implying that batters will continue to make merry and the bowlers will have to keep evolving new plans.

With only one day to turn their focus on the second match, the Giants will be challenged to regroup and find ways to execute better with the ball and the field.

On the other hand, UP Warriorz would take the field under a new captain, India’s Deepti Sharma, after their regular skipper Alyssa Healy opted out of the competition due to a string of injuries.

Deepti has been a vital cog in the Indian teams across formats but the 27-year-old veteran hasn’t held any leadership role with the national side in nearly a decade.

On their part, spin bowling could be described as UP Warriorz’ biggest strength this season after the team which finished fourth in the five-team league last year added Australia’s Alana King to their roster which already boasts of England’s Sophie Ecclestone.

King had a successful run in the women’s Ashes taking nine wickets in the only Tests as well as 17 more wickets in the limited-overs series. Along with King and Ecclestone, the Warriorz have India’s Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Deepti, Gouher Sultana as well as others in Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu and Grace Harris.

Their overall firepower pits Warriorz as the favourites for this clash given they have the formidable trio of Tahlia McGrath, Harris and Athapaththu to pick from in the batting.

The Indian talent strength is also impressive with the likes of young batters Uma Chetry, Vrinda Dinesh, Arushi Goel and the experienced Kiran Navgire in the mix, while among bowlers Saima Thakor will be looking to add a few wickets to her kitty after a dry run in the series against West Indies and Ireland.

Teams:

Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner (c), Bharti Fulmali, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield, Simran Shaikh, Danielle Gibson, Dayalan Hemalatha, Deandra Dottin, Harleen Deol, Sayali Satghare, Tanuja Kanwar, Beth Mooney (wk), Kashvee Gautam, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Singh, Prakashika Naik, Priya Mishra, Shabnam Shakil.

UP Warriorz: Deepti Sharma (c), Arushi Goel, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Vrinda Dinesh, Chamari Athapaththu, Chinelle Henry, Grace Harris, Kranti Goud, Poonam Khemnar, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Uma Chetry (wk), Alana King, Anjali Sarvani, Gouher Sultana, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Saima Thakor.

Match starts at 7:30pm IST. 

Smriti Mandhana waltzed her way to the fastest century by an Indian while Pratika Rawal compiled her maiden hundred as India amassed 435/5, their highest-ever total in the 50-over format, in the third and final women’s ODI against Ireland in Rajkot on Wednesday. The stand-in skipper Smriti’s scintillating 135 (80 balls), her 10th ODI century, came off just 70 deliveries, set the tone for India breaching the 400-run mark for the first time, joining Australia and New Zealand in that elite list.

It was also the fourth-highest total in women’s ODI, and Smriti also surpassed Harmanpreet Kaur’s 87-ball hundred mark against South Africa last year.

Smriti reached her 31st ODI fifty in 39 balls, her second half-century of the series and the southpaw was not afraid to take the aerial route over the ‘V’ and clear the 30-yard circle in an innings studded with seven sixes and 12 fours.

Pratika, a Delhi cricketer representing Railways, complemented her captain brilliantly with a measured knock, making the occasion even more special by notching her maiden international century in her sixth innings. She made 154 from 129 balls.

The 24-year-old, who debuted in the previous series against the West Indies, had already notched three fifties in four innings.

This time, Pratika made it count, reaching a run-a-ball hundred before shifting gears with authority.

Pratika relied on precise placement and deft touches in the point region and she showed her aggression only after reaching the ton, hitting Freya Sargent for her first six. She also hit 20 boundaries.

Demonstrating her hunger for a bigger knock, she powered her way to an impressive 150, showcasing a perfect blend of composure and aggression.

Their 233-run partnership made them only the fourth Indian pair to record a 200-run stand in Women’s ODIs.

The last such partnership was the record-breaking 320-run opening stand by Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut against Ireland in 2017.

It was also the third instance of both Indian openers scoring hundreds in a Women’s ODI, following Reshma Gandhi and Mithali Raj’s feat at Milton Keynes in 1999 and Deepti and Raut’s partnership at Potchefstroom in 2017 — all against Ireland.

The duo added 90 runs during the Power Play and 67 in the subsequent 10 overs, maintaining a brisk scoring rate.

The partnership marked their fourth 100-run stand in six innings.

Smriti reached her first century of the calendar year with an exquisite drive off Arlene Kelly.

Kelly bore the brunt of Smriti’s onslaught, conceding successive sixes in one over.

Even Kelly’s variations, including back-of-the-hand deliveries, were dispatched with ease, with Smriti following a six with another boundary in the 24th over.

Smriti also took on Ireland’s leading bowler, Orla Prendergast, smashing her for a boundary down the ground and a towering six over long-on, leaving the Irish attack in tatters.

Promoted to No. 3, keeper-batter Richa Ghosh also returned to form, getting to a 37-ball fifty, her fifth in ODIs.

Ireland used seven bowlers but they struggled against India’s batting fury and sloppy fielding added to their misery. 

Smriti Mandhana in action© BCCI

File image of Smriti Mandhana.© BCCI