Kiran Navgire smashed the fastest fifty of the Women’s T20 Challenge on her batting debut in the tournament during Velocity’s chase against the Trailblazers in Pune on Thursday.
Walking in after the dismissal of Shafali Verma at 50/2 in a 190-run chase, Navgire got off the mark with a thumping slog-sweep over long-on for six off Salma Khatun. Navgire followed up with a four and another six in the same over as Velocity posted 68 for two in the PowerPlay – the highest in the tournament’s history.
Navgire then reached the half-century mark off just 25 balls with a six to breach Shafali Verma’s record of 30 balls. She followed up with another six off the next ball with a mighty swipe off Rajeshwari Gayakwad over long-on.
The 26-year-old has been setting the domestic scene on fire with a prolific run in the recently-concluded Senior Women’s T20 trophy. Navgire racked up 525 runs for Nagaland and led the run-scoring charts in the tournament. She eventually perished for 69 off 34 balls after being stumped off Sophia Dunkley’s bowling
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In her first game in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy against Arunachal Pradesh, she hammered a 76-ball 162 – making her the first Indian, male or female, to score more than 150 runs in a T20 match. “After I scored 162, my teammates told me that I am the only Indian to cross the 150-run mark in T20s. I didn’t know about it and it felt really good,” Navgire told Sporstar about her record knock.
Navgire, who initially plied her trade for Maharashtra, made the switch to Nagaland after failing to receive enough opportunities to play in the state team. Her consistent performances took Nagaland to the knockouts but the side failed to make the quarterfinals.
Navgire elaborated further on her India debut dreams. “My aim is to guide India to a World Cup title and I am working hard to make it to the Indian team. I hope my performances will help,” she said.