India U19 Women’s team led by Shafali Verma created history by becoming the very first winners of the ICC U19 T20 World Cup which was played in South Africa after defeating England U19 Women by 7 wickets in the final hosted by the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on January 29, 2023.
Shafali Verma, who turned 19 a day before the final, won the toss and chose to bowl first on a surface that assisted spin. Titas Sadhu (2/6) and spinners Archana Devi (2/17) and Parshavi Chopra (2/13) ran through the England lineup at the top.
Ryana MacDonald-Gay top-scored with 19 and the next best score was 11 by two batters, as England could only manage 68 in 17.1 overs.
In reply, the top-scorer of the tournament, Shweta Sehrawat fell for 5 runs and skipper Shafali made 15 runs. But then Soumya Tiwari (24*) and Gongadi Trisha made 24 runs, batting with caution and adding 46 runs for the third wicket.
India achieved the target in 14 overs with 7 wickets in hand, as they became the very first U19 Women’s T20 World Cup champions. Titas Sadhu was named the Player of the final for her 2/6, while Grace Scrivens of England was named the Player of the Tournament.
The Indian cricket fraternity rejoiced on Twitter and lauded them on their very special achievement.
Here are the tweets:
