India clinch their second successive U19 Women's T20 WC title
What's the story
The Indian U19 women's cricket team has defended their ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup title, winning the tournament for the second consecutive time. The victorious finale witnessed India thrash South Africa by a whopping nine-wicket margin on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur. The match was marked by brilliant performances from Gongadi Trisha and Sanika Chalke, who stayed unbeaten at 44 and 26 runs respectively.
Bowling prowess
Indian bowlers restrict SA to paltry total
India's bowling attack was instrumental in their victory, restricting South Africa to a meager total of 82/10 in 20 overs. The decision to bowl first paid off as India made an immediate impact with back-to-back wickets. Gongadi Trisha led the charge with three wickets, while Parunika Sisodia, Aayushi Shukla, and Vaishnavi Sharma each claimed two. Shabnam Shakil also took one wicket for the defending champions.
Chase
How did the chase pan out?
Despite losing opener G Kamalini (8) in the fifth over, Trisha and Chalke steadied India's chase. The duo added an unbroken second-wicket stand of 48 runs, sealing their title defense. Trisha top-scored with an unbeaten 44 off 33 balls while Chalke played a crucial unbeaten 26 off just 22 deliveries. It was Chalke who hit the winning runs as India prevailed in 11.2 overs.
Tournament history
India's journey to consecutive U-19 T20 World Cup titles
This victory is India's second consecutive Women's U-19 T20 World Cup title. The team had won the inaugural edition in 2023 by defeating England by seven wickets in the final. Both triumphs came under the leadership of Shafali Verma, further cementing her legacy as a successful captain in this format of cricket.
Information
Trisha named Player of the Tournament
Trisha's all-round heroics earned the Player-of-the-Tournament award. She was also named the Player of the final. The rising sensation finished the competition as the highest run-getter with 309 runs at 77.25. No other batter even managed 180 runs. Moreover, her strike rate was 147.14, as per Cricbuzz. The leg-spinner also claimed 10 wickets at an economy of 6.43.