'It was some of the best hitting I’ve seen' - Meg Lanning on Shafali Verma's eye-catching 76*

Shafali Verma managed to enamour the experienced Meg Lanning as the great Aussie stalwart heaped effusive praise on the young Indian opener for her terrific blitz on Saturday (March 11) in the Women's Premier League (WPL). 

The Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper lauded the performance of her teenage sensation at the top of the order after she hammered the Gujarat Giants (GG) on her way to produce a knock of 78 not out in just 28 balls. 

It was the hitting of the highest class, Lanning said, as Verma blazed it away for 10 fours and 5 sixes to make it the easiest of chases for the Capitals. 

In a quest to try and overhaul Giants' paltry 105/9, Capitals coasted along the run-chase thanks to Shafali Verma's knock with nearly a whopping 13 overs remaining in their innings and all their ten wickets still intact with Lanning, batting at the other for her sedate 21* off 15 balls, enjoying the best seat in the house. 

Meg Lanning lauds Shafali Verma 

"It was some of the best hitting I’ve seen," Lanning said at the post-match presentation ceremony, in awe of the knock she saw at the other end. The Australian great said her only advise for Shafali Verma was to channelise her intent straight and avoid the high-risk options as she is perfectly capable of maintaining a high strike rate with her natural strokes. 

"I said just keep it simple. Stay still and hit the ball straight. I’m still to get over it. That was a pretty cool show to watch from the other end. I was just cheerleading from the other end. It seemed like a new ball wicket."

"We just had to make sure what we had to do. Shafali didn’t make it look very difficult. Those sort of chases can be tricky if you go into a shell."

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Speaking about her knock after the match, Verma agreed with her mighty successful and experienced captain, saying since she had gotten out flicking the ball in the last game, it was important for her to play straight in this innings. 

"I got out while playing flick in the last match, so I tried to play straight tonight," Shafali said. "I wasn’t in a hurry, but I was trying to give my best during the run chase. Now we can rest and enjoy ourselves."

"I would like to thank Lanning for her advice. I want to work hard in future and keep scoring and playing in the same way," she added.