Shafali Verma toils in India nets ahead of World Cup semifinal against Australia

Shafali Verma shines in nets ahead of WC semifinal against Australia. (Photo: PTI)

A last minute addition to the India squad, Shafali Verma looked to make the most of the team's training session under lights on Tuesday ahead of the Women’s ODI World Cup semifinal against the mighty Australia.

Shafali was drafted into the side on Monday after opener Pratika Rawal was ruled out of the tournament following injuries to her knee and ankle suffered during their last league match against Bangladesh.

India will take on seven-time champions Australia in the second semifinal on Thursday.

The 21-year-old Shafali began the session with some high catching practice, before padding up to bat alongside the Indian top order at the University Ground.

Shafali did not shy away from unleashing her powerful hits, both along the ground and in the air, but on a few occasions the sweep shots did not come out as well as she intended. She spent more than an hour batting.

Shafali then moved inside to face four of India’s frontline bowlers Deepti Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh Thakur and Radha Yadav to carry on her batting session after which she rolled her arms. But undoubtedly, it was the red-hot in form vice-captain Smriti Mandhana who stole the limelight even in the nets. Mandhana went about her session fluently to hit some crisp drives and even lofted hits which cleared the ropes with ease at both the training venues.

India No 3 Harleen Deol also showed aggressive intent during the nets while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues spent time facing net bowlers.

In a positive development, Richa Ghosh began with keeping drills against net bowlers who bowled both spin and fast before the India wicketkeeper-batter padded up for her turn to have a hit in the nets, which she did without any visible discomfort. She was rested from the last league game against Bangladesh with concerns over her fitness.