Mandhana doesn't mind sharing limelight with Shafali

Melbourne : She has been the backbone of Indian women's cricket team's batting but swashbuckling India opener Smriti Mandhana is delighted that teen prodigy Shafali Verma is stealing her thunder at the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup as it takes the pressure off her.

The 23-year-old Mandhana, who has been a key player for the Indian team in the last two-three years, said Verma is showing she is capable of filling her boots.

"I used to score a lot of our runs in the last two of three years, especially in the Powerplay, but now with Shafali coming in, she's getting the runs in the way I do.

It makes the team more balanced," Mandhana said. "Shafali has been a huge positive coming into the T20 side. The way she's going about her batting, it's so easy to bat alongside her," she said on the eve of India's T20 World Cup group match against New Zealand here on Thursday.

Verma has already announced her emergence on the global stage. The 16-year-old has scored 68 runs across two games in this World Cup, including five sixes and seven fours, at an impressive strike rate of 212.

The teenager, who is making her ICC Women's T20 World Cup debut in Australia, picked up the Player of the Match award for her 39 runs against Bangladesh, a game which Mandhana missed after picking up viral fever.

"I used to have a major role in Powerplays, but Shafali is getting the quick runs in those first overs now too. She's made a huge impact and the team has become more balanced thanks to her," said Mandhana.