Goan cricketer Purvaja Verlekar has made an instant impression in her India A debut on the T20 tour of Engalnd against England A. The 25-year-old batter came in at No 3, and played her strokes without being overawed by the conditions in both the matches so far.
In the first match won by India A chasing the modest target of 127, Purvaja scored 23 runs off 27 balls with four hits to the fence in her knock that had a strike rate of above 85 per cent. She struck 2 boundaries each of the bowling of Sophia Smale and Grace Potts before being dismissed caught and bowled by Potts.
Purvaja, who resides in Mapusa, improved on her batting in the second match with her contribution being 30 runs from 25 balls at a strike rate of 120 as India A batted first to post 172 runs. She was severe on Sophia Smale, hitting 3 boundaries of her bowling while also stroking one four each of Grave Ballinger and Kalea Moore; before being clean bowled by Ryana Mcdonald Gay. England A, however, chased the target to level the series and set up an intriguing decider to be played on Thursday.
https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/12144/india-a-women-tour-of-england-2026/matches
