India thrashed South Africa by nine wickets in the final to win the women’s U-19 T20 World Cup title for the second time in a row on Sunday at Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur.
Chasing a paltry target of 83, India completed the job with 52 balls to spare as they reached 84 for one in 11.2 overs.
Gongadi Trisha top-scored for India with an unbeaten 44 off 33 balls.
Vice-captain Sanika Chalke (26 not out; 22 balls, 4×4) sealed the victory with a powerful heave to the square-leg boundary, forcing the young Indian players, draped in the Tricolour, to break into wild celebrations.
Left-arm spinner Aayushi Shukla was the star of the show with figures of 4-2-9-2, while leg-spinner Trisha, who has also been a revelation with the bat, further underlined her all-round capabilities with her triple strikes with the ball.
Mieke van Voorst (23) top-scored for South Africa who suffered a batting collapse after opting to take the first strike. Only four of their batters could score in double-digit figures, while four of them could not open their accounts.
India got off to a strong start in their chase, scoring briskly with a steady flow of singles and boundaries.
Gongadi Trisha was awarded the ‘player of the match’ for her brilliant all-round performance in the final, which played a key role in India’s dominating win over South Africa in the final.
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15/3 with the ball and an unbeaten 44 with the bat, Trisha gets her deserving recognition.
Scoring 309 runs and 7 wickets throughout the tournament also gets her the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.
India won the title in the inaugural edition in 2023 after beating England by seven wickets in the final.