India’s explosive opener Shafali Verma etched her name into the history books on Monday, October 18, 2026 during the second T20I against Zimbabwe at Raipur’s Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium.
Shafali’s blistering 55 off just 25 balls (six fours and four sixes, strike rate 220) marked her ninth 50-plus score of the calendar year in women’s T20 Internationals, overtaking the previous mark of eight set by her opening partner and India captain Smriti Mandhana in 2024. Match And The Milestone Knock Zimbabwe posted a modest 102/8 in their 20 overs. India, chasing 103, needed only 8.5 overs to finish the job for a nine-wicket victory, sealing the three-match series 2-0 with a game to spare. Shafali’s record-breaking run across 2026 has been defined by high-impact consistency and sheer destructive intent. Across major competitions, including the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 in Dubai, the Asian Games in Nagoya, and bilateral series, her tally in 2026 includes one hundred and eight fifties:
In 26 T20I innings in 2026, she has scored 922 runs at an average of approximately 38.41 and a strike rate above 165, making her the highest run-scorer by any player in a calendar year in women’s T20Is. She has also become the only batter to cross 900 T20I runs in a single year.
