Shafali Verma produced a record-breaking innings against Bangladesh in the Asian Games 2026 women’s semifinal on Sunday, becoming the first woman to score a century in the competition and the third Indian woman to hit a T20I hundred.
The opener reached three figures from just 49 balls, remaining unbeaten on 100 as India posted 195/4 in 20 overs after opting to bat first. Her innings included nine sixes and three fours, with India needing 196 to reach the gold-medal match.
Shafali Verma joins elite Asian Games century list
Shafali’s hundred also made her only the second Indian cricketer to score a century at the Asian Games, after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 100 against Nepal in 2023. Pakistan’s Khalid Latif had scored the first men’s century in the competition in 2010, while Nepal’s Kushal Malla and Malaysia’s Syed Aziz also reached three figures in 2023.
The 22-year-old had already made an explosive start, putting on 72 for the opening wicket with Smriti Mandhana, who scored 37. After Mandhana’s dismissal, Shafali added 94 with Harmanpreet Kaur, who made 40 from 33 balls.
She accelerated dramatically late in the innings, reaching her nineties with back-to-back sixes off Nahida Akter before completing her maiden T20I century from the final delivery of India’s innings.
Another record for India’s power-hitter
Shafali’s 49-ball hundred puts her level with Harmanpreet Kaur for the second-fastest century by an Indian woman in T20Is. Only Deandra Dottin, who reached the mark in 38 balls, has done it quicker among women.
Her nine sixes also took her to 102 career T20I sixes, moving her past Mandhana’s 100 and into second place on the all-time list alongside Deandra Dottin, behind Sophie Devine’s 134.
The innings has also taken Shafali to 815 T20I runs in 2026, leaving her nine behind South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt for the most in the calendar year. Her 35 sixes this year are now the most by a woman in a calendar year, surpassing Chamari Athapaththu’s 32 in 2024.
India will face Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match if they defeat Bangladesh in the semifinal. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the other semifinal.