The India Women’s team secured a dominating nine-wicket victory over South Africa to win the ICC U19 T20 World Cup on Sunday (February 2) at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur. Interestingly, the Women in Blue were the champions in the inaugural season (2023) as well.
The Proteas Women won the toss and opted to bat first, which proved to be a big mistake. The collective effort of the Indian bowlers saw South Africa Women reeling at 29/3 after the end of six overs. Thereafter, Mieke van Voorst (23) emerged as the biggest contributor, as the Proteas Women were all-out for 80.
G Trisha was the pick of the bowlers for India Women with three wickets, with Parunika Sisodia, Aayushi Shukla and Vaishnavi Sharma scalping two each.
In response, India Women lost G. Kamalini (8) early. Nevertheless, Trisha (44* off 33) and Sanika Chalke (26* off 22) were clinical with their approach to chase down the score in less than 12 overs.
Along with Player of the Match honor, G Trisha won the Player of the Tournament award as well for scoring 309 runs and securing seven wickets.
Unfortunately, the result continued with South Africa failing to hold their nerves in the final of the ICC event for the third time in the last one year. They failed to win the T20 World Cup (men and women) in 2024, losing to India and Australia, respectively.
India Women’s captain expresses her happiness at winning U19 World Cup
In the post-match presentation, India Women’s captain Niki Prasad revealed that they were confident of their preparation and wanted to express themselves to the fullest. While also thanking BCCI for their support, Prasad said:
“All of us tried to stay calm, remained down to earth and stuck to doing our job. We wanted to go out there and show what we can do. Thanks to the BCCI for giving us the best facilities. I’m feeling happy that I’m right here standing, making sure India stays on top. It’s a special moment. Start of the tournament I mentioned we’re here to dominate, to ensure India is here to stay on top. The South Africans have been playing really well, we’ve been playing against them for a long time, the character they’ve shown is nice to see, really nice to compete against them.”
Interestingly, No. 4 batter Niki Prasad couldn’t arrive at the crease in the last three games, as the top three batters were potent enough to contribute for the team. She scored 16 runs in two innings, while remaining unbeaten in one of the games.
