India defeated New Zealand on Friday to reach the final of the Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup. The first country to make it to the final, they would face either England or Australia in the final. Incidentally it is the inaugural edition of the ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup.
The Shafali Verma-led side restricted NZ to 107 for 9, with the total eight wickets down and around four overs to spare. Parshvi Chopra’s three-wicket haul and opener Shweta Sehrawat’s half-century played a vital role in helping India win the match.
Chopra was later declared player of the match. The 16-year-old leg-spinner broke the back of the Kiwi batting order by taking three wickets in a row to finish at 74 for 5 in the 13th over. Tita Sadhu, Mannat Kashyap, Shefali and Archana Devi also took one wicket each.
Captain Shafali Verma decided to bowl first after India won the toss. The New Zealand partnership crumbled quickly as India took wickets at regular intervals.
The other team lost two within the powerplay, most of which fell after the first half of the innings. Except for Sonam Yadav, all the bowlers of Team India took at least one wicket during the match.
New Zealand’s Anna Browning sent Verma (10) packing in the fourth over of the innings, as opener Sehrawat took the lead with Soumya Tiwary (22) taking singles at regular intervals. Both of them collectively took Team India to the threshold of victory by scoring 62 runs. She was then joined by Goongadi Trisha, scoring the winning runs off Browning with fours as India reached 110 for 2 in 14.2 overs.
(with inputs from agencies)
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