Inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup goes to India

POTCHEFSTROOM: India produced a dominant performance against England to triumph in the first-ever ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday.

A brilliant new-ball performance was followed by a calm run-chase as India cruised to victory over England in the final, sealing their triumph with seven wickets in hand and six overs to spare.

Having won the toss and deciding to put England in to bat, India’s bowlers more than justified the decision with a ruthless display. England were bowled out for 68 in 17.1 overs.

Opening bowlers Titas Sadhu and Archana Devi ripped through the England top order, reducing them to 22-4 after six overs, with key batter Grace Scrivens (4) one of those to fall.

Sadhu bowled her four overs straight through, going for just six runs and picking up two wickets. Devi was slightly more expensive, but her 2-17 included the crucial dismissals of Scrivens and Niamh Holland (10).

Wickets continued to tumble, with England not able to see out their full allocation of overs despite resistance from Ryana MacDonald-Gay (19).

And the final wicket fell with 17 balls still remaining, leaving India a target of just 69 to win.

England had pulled off a great escape in the semi-final against Australia, but lightning did not strike twice.

Shafali Verma’s aggressive 15 from 11 balls cut into the target early on, but the removal of both openers gave India a temporary scare. Hannah Baker (1-13) had Verma caught, before Scrivens (1-13) removed Shweta Sehrawat for five.

But Soumya Tiwari and Gongadi Trisha settled things down with an excellent and composed partnership.

The pair got to within one hit of the target when Trisha went for glory and was cleaned up by Alexa Stonehouse. Trisha contributed 24 off 37 balls, hitting three boundaries.

But India did not have to wait long for the winning moment, with Soumya Tiwari knocking a single to see it through with an unbeaten 24 from 37 balls, exactly what her side required on the big stage. She cracked three fours.

And the celebrations were huge as India claimed the title in the first-ever ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.