U19 Women's World Cup final: India defend their crown, beat SA by 9 wickets

India managed to successfully defend their U19 Women's World Cup crown as they defeated South Africa by 9 wickets in the final showdown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Niki Prasad and co. managed to chase down the 83-run target within 12 overs on the day as they marched on to a comfortable victory in the end.  Indian bowlers limit South Africa to 82  Opting to bat first, South Africa had a rough start as opener Simone Lurens was dismissed for a duck by Parunika Sisodia in the second over. 

 

Her partner, Jemma Botha, also struggled, falling for 16 when Shabnam Shakil claimed her first wicket of the match. Mieke Van Voorst was the top scorer for South Africa, contributing 23 runs from 18 balls, but her effort wasn’t enough to set a competitive total.    

 

India maintained their pressure throughout, picking up wickets at regular intervals to restrict South Africa to a modest total of 82 after 20 overs. 

 

Gingadi Trisha led the bowling attack with 2 wickets, while Aayushi, Vaishanavi, and Parunika each claimed two wickets to ensure a comfortable target for India to chase.  Reigning champions defend their crown  In reply, India started strong in their chase but opener Kamalini got dismissed at just 8 runs in the 5th over while her batting partner Gongadi Trisha batted on strongly for the champions.  Trisha's unbeaten 33-ball 44* along with Sanika Chalke's 26* made sure that the defending champions cruised to a 9-wicket victory on the day in what is a pretty impressive achievement by the Women in Blue.