Indian bowlers’ tremendous bowling performance followed by Gongadi Trisha and Soumya Tiwari’s knocks helped India lift the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup title after defeating England by seven wickets in the summit clash here at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Sunday. Chasing a target of 69, India captain Shafali Verma started their world cup winning chase by smashing a beautiful four on Hannah Baker’s delivery. Baker then gave her team a big breakthrough as she dismissed Shafali for 15 off 11. England bowlers tried to turn the game back in their hands as captain Grace Scrivens removed dangerous batter Shweta Sehrawat for 5 runs of 6 balls. The right-handed batter Gongadi Trisha then came out to bat. Soumya Tiwari played some aggressive boundaries while Trisha played the anchor role. After 10 overs India needed 21 runs in 60 balls to win. Gongadi Trisha then opened her hands to hammer Ellie Anderson for back-to-back two fours. In the 13th over of the innings, Alexa Stonehouse dismissed batter Gongadi Trisha for 24 off 29 deliveries. Soumya Tiwari then led Team India to clinch the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup title beating England by seven wickets. Earlier, opted to field first, Indian bowlers completely dominated the game from the beginning against England in the summit clash. Titas Sadhu provided India with their first wicket of the innings, dismissing England opener Liberty Heap on a two-ball duck. The duo of Grace Scrivens and Niamh Fiona Holland tried to handle the pressure as they played some boundary shots. However, Holland could not stand long on the crease as she was sent back to the pavilion. After Holland’s wicket, England’s batters could not hold long and lost their wicket at regular intervals in front of Indian bowlers’ tremendous bowling performance. India set the tone early with the new ball and gave blows to the England Women Under-19 at regular intervals to bundle them for 68. Titas Sadhu, Archana Devi and Parshavi Chopra bagged two wickets respectively. Ryana Macdonald Gay scored the highest for England with 19 runs off 24 balls. Brief score: England 69/3 (Ryana Macdonald Gay 19, Alexa Stonehouse 11; Titas Sadhu 2-6) vs India 69-3 (Soumya Tiwari 24*, Soumya Tiwari 24; Hannah Baker 1-13). (ANI)
