India Women win the inaugural ICC U-19 T20 World Cup
India overpowered England to lift the maiden ICC Women's U-19 T20 World Cup title on Sunday. Opting to bowl, India bundled out England on merely 68. Medium-pacer Titas Sadhu shone with the best figures (2/6). For England, middle-order batter Ryana Macdonald Gay (19) was the top scorer. Later, Soumya Tiwari (24*) and Gongadi Trisha (24) made the chase one-sided for India Women. Here's more.
How did the match pan out?
India forced breakthroughs at different stages, thereby bringing England down to 39/5 in 9.6 overs. England's lower-middle order failed to get going, with spinner Sophia Smale (11) getting them close to 70. Titas was India's best bet, with spinners Parshavi Chopra and Archana Devi bagging two wickets as well. Chasing 69, India lost Shafali Verma and Shweta Sehrawat cheaply, but Soumya got them through.
India's journey in the tournament
India, led by Shafali Verma, finished the league stage atop the Group D standings with three wins in as many games. They breezed past South Africa, UAE, and Scotland. Their only defeat came against Australia in the super-six round. However, they bounced with a win versus Sri Lanka. India thrashed New Zealand in the semi-final, followed by routing England in the final-summit clash.
Maiden ICC honor for India Women at U-19 level
India Women claimed their maiden honor at the U-19 T20 World Cup. As stated, it was the maiden edition of the tournament. Meanwhile, the men's cricket team have won five titles to date at the U-19 level (2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, 2022). As per Kausthub Gudipati, India have become the first Asian team to win a Women's World Cup in any format.
Stars in the bowling department
Bowling all-rounder Parshavi Chopra wound up as India's highest wicket-taker in the tournament. She bagged 11 wickets at 7.00 (BBI: 4/5). Mannat Kashyap was a class act as well. The slow left-arm orthodox claimed nine wickets at 10.33 (BBI: 4/12). Meanwhile, Archana Devi took eight scalps at 13.12 (BBI: 3/14).
Sehrawat's sensational show with the bat
Shweta Sehrawat concluded as the highest run-scorer in the competition. The opening batter scored 297 runs while averaging a stellar 99.00. She struck three half-centuries (HS: 92*). Meanwhile, England's Grace Scrivens (293) was the only other batter with over 200 runs in the tournament.
Shafali, Richa shine on the big stage
Skipper Shafali and wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh were the only internationally-capped players in the Indian team. With 172 runs, the former concluded as the third-highest run-getter in the competition (50s: 1). Meanwhile, Richa accumulated 93 runs in four innings at 23.25 (SR: 127.39).
