India wins the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup

India Women scripted history by winning inaugural Women T-20 World Cup

India won their maiden ICC title in women’s cricket as a bunch of bright and talented teenagers lifted the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup with a seven wicket victory over England. The Shafali Verma led India U19 squad managed to do what their seniors could not do by clearing the final hurdle in such a big global event.

India first bundled out England for 68 in 17.1 overs and then returned to knock off their target in 14 overs to lift the title trophy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on February 1, felicitated the U19 Women’s team after their victory in the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.

On Sunday, January 29, India, captained by Shafali Verma, won the inaugural edition of the tournament after beating Grace Scrivens led England by seven wickets in the final match at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.

The players of the Indian U 19 women team were felicitated by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who became the first and the youngest sportsperson to receive the Bharat Ratna award, and the BCCI office bearers. Sachin and the BCCI office bearers also gave a cheque of INR 5 crore to the Indian women’s team.The felicitation ceremony took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad just before the third and final T20I between Hardik Pandya led India and Mitchell Santner led New Zealand.

India won all their matches in the group stage from the very beginning before losing to Australia in their first match of Super 6. In the semis, the Women in Blue defeated New Zealand by an eight wickets margin, after which they beat England.

Right handed batter Shweta Sehrawat and leg-spinner Parshavi Chopra played crucial roles in the tournament for India in their campaign. Sehrawat also became the leading run scorer of the tournament after she scored 297 runs from seven matches for an average of 99 and a strike rate of 139.43 with three half centuries and a top score of 92 and not out.

Parshavi Chopra was also impressive as she finished as the second highest wicket taker in the tournament. The spinner also accounted for 11 scalps from six matches at a rate of 3.66 with a 4 wicket haul to her name. Skipper and captain Shafali also played her part by finishing third in the list of top run scorers of the tournament. The Indian skipper scored 172 runs from seven matches at an average of 24.57 and a good strike rate of 193.25 with the top score of 78.

India winning the World Cup is changing things. It actually always has. Cricket needs no retelling of the impact Kapil Dev’s case of 1983 or MS Dhoni’s triumph in 2007 and 2011 did, not just for India, but for the financial health of this global game. This win also reaffirms India’s dominance at the U-19 level with the boys winning the world title last year.

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