Daily Times

POTCHEFSTROOM: India produced a dominant performance against England to triumph in the first-ever ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup here 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 decided to put England in to bat, India’s bowlers more than justified the decision with a ruthless display. 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 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 had Verma caught, before Scrivens removed Shweta Sehrawat. 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. But India didn’t 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. And the celebrations were huge as India claimed the title in the first-ever ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

Brief scores: England 68 (Ryana MacDonald-Gay 19, Titas Sadhu 2-6, Parshavi Chopra 2-13) vs India 69 for 3 (Gongadi Trisha 24, Soumya Tiwari 24 not out, Hannah Baker 1-13). India beat England by seven wickets.