Last Updated:June 14, 2026, 19:34 IST
Shafali Verma hits a six off the first ball in the Women’s T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, becoming the first cricketer to do so.
Shafali Varma.
India opener Shafali Verma became the first cricketer in the world to hit a six off the first ball in a Women’s T20 World Cup match on Sunday (June 14) while batting against Pakistan at Edgbaston. She opened her and India’s account in the 2026 edition of the tournament with a huge maximum down the ground.
Pakistan tried to outfox Shafali by opening the attack with left-arm spinner, Sadia Iqbal, and it led to quite a battle. Seeing Iqbal bowl the first ball a bit too full, Shafali set the tone immediately, pouncing and lofting it straight over the ropes. However, Sadia responded impressively, tightening her line and length.
The left-arm spinner first forced Shafali onto the defensive with a fuller delivery outside off before cramping her for room with a couple of balls that drifted into the batter. Shafali looked intent on attacking, repeatedly backing away to create scoring opportunities on the offside, but Sadia adjusted cleverly.
On the fifth ball, the bowler got her final laugh. Attempting another aggressive stroke after making room, Shafali was surprised by the extra bounce from a shorter delivery. The ball took the outside edge and flew behind the stumps, where wicketkeeper Muneeba Ali completed an excellent catch.
Sadia nearly finished the over with another wicket, but Jemimah Rodrigues survived her first delivery after chipping a push back towards the bowler. A leg-side wide had already added an extra run, leaving India at 7/1 after the first over.
The over showed several things to India. Firstly, that’s just how Shafali bats, and such aggression would always need to be encouraged rather than criticised for the T20 format — as the record proved, there are not many cricketers in the world who could do what she does.
But, also, they would have learned that the pitch in Edbaston was not the easiest to bat on, where spinners could come in handy as the match goes on.
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