 "ICC Women's U19 T20 World Cup: Indian skipper proud to keep India on top")
In a proud moment for Indian cricket fans on Sunday, their U19 women’s cricket team beat South Africa in the final to win back-to-back ICC Women's U19 T20 World Cup titles in Malaysia. Indian skipper Nikki Prasad, under whom India’s U19 team are now defending Asian Cup and T20 World Cup champions, expressed her happiness at defending the title that India won under the leadership of Shafali Verma in 2024.
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Prasad recalled that at the start of the tournament, she had stated their goal was to dominate and establish India’s supremacy in the competition, which they achieved by remaining composed, grounded, and focused on their job.
Prasad also expressed her gratitude to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for providing the best facilities and shared her happiness at ensuring that India remained on top. She emphasised that the team had set out to showcase their abilities on the field.
Trisha named Player of the Tournament
Trisha’s all-round brilliance earned her the Player of the Tournament award for scoring 309 runs and taking seven wickets. She also won the Player of the Match title for her unbeaten 44 and 3/15 in the final.
She dedicated her award to her father, who was present at the match, and mentioned that she had always considered herself an all-rounder. Trisha expressed her ambition to play for India and contribute to more victories. She shared that her approach had always been to focus on her strengths and added that she looked up to former India captain Mithali Raj as her inspiration.
India’s dominant victory over South Africa
India secured their second consecutive title, defeating South Africa by nine wickets in the final. Chasing a modest target of 83, India comfortably reached 84/1 in just 11.2 overs, with 52 balls to spare.
Gongadi Trisha led the run chase with an unbeaten 44 off 33 balls, while Sanika Chalke remained not out on 26 off 22 balls.
South Africa takes pride despite defeat
Despite the defeat, South Africa captain Kayla Reyneke expressed pride in her team’s journey. She acknowledged that emotions were running high but stressed that she would not take anything away from the team and management, who had worked hard to reach this stage.
Reyneke admitted that missing out on the trophy was disappointing but believed that reaching South Africa’s first-ever final was a significant achievement. She added that the experience would serve as motivation for the team to return stronger in 2027.