Shafali Verma-led Team India has stormed into the finals of the inaugural U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup after defeating New Zealand by 8 wickets in Potchefstroom on Friday.
The Girls in Blue will face the winner of the second semi-final, between England Women and Australia Women, in the grand finale of the tournament on Sunday at the same venue.
It was yet another clinical performance from Team India that led them to an easy win against the Kiwis. After opting to bowl first, India restricted the white ferns for a paltry 107 for 9 in 20 overs. Parshavi Chopra was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 3 for 20 in four overs. The likes of Titas Sadhu (1/17), Mannat Kashyap (1/21), Shafali (1/7) and Archana Devi (1/20) picked up a wicket apiece.
The target of 108 wasn’t a tricky one for India, given their strong batting line-up. Though the Girls in Blue lost their skipper early, Shweta Sehrawat took the team home with her magnificent knock. The opening batter carried her bat and scored an unbeaten 61 off 45 balls with the help of 10 boundaries. She also featured in the match-winning 62-run partnership with Soumya Tiwari (22), taking the victory away from New Zealand.
For the Kiwis, Anna Browning picked up the wickets of Shafali and Soumy while the rest of the bowlers returned wicketless.
India’s decision to take the field bore immediate fruit as Mannat and Sadhu got rid of the New Zealand openers within the first three overs. Coming in at 5/2, Kiwi keeper Izzy Gaze (26 from 22) responded with a counter-attack, which got New Zealand’s innings going.
Just when the White Ferns seemed like they were getting back in the game, India’s hero from the last game, Parshavi Chopra dismissed Gaze. Under Chopra’s lead, India spinners tied down the batting side in the middle overs. Georgia Plimmer (35 from 31) held her own till the 17th over, but after her dismissal, New Zealand could merely get to 107/9.
India will face the winner of the second semi-final between England and Australia in Sunday’s ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup final.
Brief scores: New Zealand 107/9 in 20 overs (Georgia Plimmer 35, Isabella Gaze 26; Parshavi Chopra 3-20, Shafali Verma 1-7) lost to India 110/2 in 14.2 overs (Shweta Sehrawat 61 not out, Soumya Tiwari 22; Anna Browning 2-18) by eight wickets
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