The whole nation was on its feet when Shafali Verma-led Team India (U-19) clinched the maiden Under 19 World Cup title, on Sunday, by comfortably beating England at Senwes Park, in Potchefstroom. Women in Blue produced a dominating show in the final clash as they first reduced the opponents to just 68 in 17.1 overs and then followed it up with an easy chase.
The girls received congratulatory messages from all quarters as the Men’s Senior Team in India too took some time to wish the girls. In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, India’s head coach Rahul Dravid termed it a ‘landmark’ day for India before passing it on to winning Under-19 boys captain Prithvi Shaw to wish the girls on behalf of the team.
Shaw, who led the India Under-19 team to lift the trophy in 2018 in New Zealand, said, “I think, it’s a great achievement. Everyone wants to congratulate the under-19 Women’s team. So, congratulations!” Notably, it was the fourth title for India’s young guns. India became the first-ever ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup winners on Sunday.
Speaking of the match, Indian bowlers - Titas Sadhu, Archana Devi and Parshavi Chopra bagged two wickets each, while Mannat Kashyap, Shafali Verma and Sonam Yadav too picked one wicket each. England could only post 68 in 17.1 overs before letting India chase down the target with a lot of ease.
For India, Soumya Tiwari (24 off 37) and Gongadi Trisha (24 off 29) batted smartly in the middle to avoid any turbulence during the run-chase. Titas Sadhu was adjudged Player of the Match for her impressive spell where she conceded just 6 runs in four overs and picked up two wickets.
“It's really surreal. Have been looking forward to this day for a long time. We had a plan in our mind, and thankfully we executed what we planned,” she said during the post-match presentation.
