Kuala Lumpur: India’s march to a second successive U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup title triumph here brought to the fore a dazzling array of talents that will stand the country in good stead going forward.
PTI takes a look at some of India’s key performers in the top age-group tournament:
Gongadi Trisha: In red-hot form with the bat, Hyderabad’s Trisha ruled the tournament like no other player. Setting the record for most runs in a single edition of the event, the all-rounder amassed 309 runs in seven matches at a whopping average of 77.25 with one century.
Trisha, whose journey was charted by her father, chipped in with her leg-spin, too, as she claimed seven wickets in as many matches with a best of 3/6. Her performances here must have left the WPL teams ruing their decision to not pick her in their teams.
G Kamalini: The left-handed opening batter from Tamil Nadu finished as the third highest scorer in the World Cup with 143 runs in seven innings at 47.66. While she did not have a bright start to the tournament, Kamalini came into her elements in the Super Six clash against Scotland with a knock of 51, and struck 56 not out against England in the semifinal.
She was bought by inaugural WPL winners Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.6 crore in the auction shortly after she hit a 29-ball 44 for India against Pakistan in the U-19 Asia Cup. In the beginning, Kamalini loved skating but took to cricket following her brother’s footsteps and to support the children, their parents moved from Madurai to Chennai.
Vaishnavi Sharma: A left-arm orthodox bowler from Gwalior, Vaishnavi created the record for most wickets (17) in any edition of the U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup. She began with a 5/5, including a hat-trick against Malaysia, who were shot out for a mere 31 in the tournament opener, took 1/3 against Sri Lanka, 3/15 against Bangladesh, 3/5 against Scotland, 3/23 against England and 2/23 against South Africa in the final.
Aayushi Shukla: They say bowlers hunt in packs and Aayushi proved to be a perfect foil for Vaishnavi in Malaysia. With her best figures of 4/8 coming against Scotland, Aayushi claimed a total of 14 wickets in seven matches.
India sailed comfortably into the final of the tournament and clinched the title largely due to the exploits of their bowlers and Aayushi’s spin bowling proved to be too difficult for all opponents.
Sanika Chalke: Mumbai’s Sanika was the one to hit the winning runs on Sunday when she cracked a four off Monalisa Legodi to take India to the title win. Playing the perfect deputy to skipper Niki Prasad, Sanika provided a strong backing to the Indian openers with crucial knocks in the middle-order.
Parunika Sisodia: India’s domination in bowling was not all about Vaishnavi and Aayushi as Parunika’s 10 wickets backed them up perfectly. Another left-arm spinner in the ranks and who is in the roster for Gujarat Giants in the WPL, Parunika finished as the fourth highest wicket-taker in the competition with spells of 3/21 and 2/6 in the semifinal and the final.
VJ Joshitha: Kerala’s Joshitha was another vital cog in the Indian bowling attack with tight spells as she claimed an overall six wickets in as many outings and supported others with her discipline, maintaining an economy rate of under five an over.
Shabnam Shakil: The 17-year-old from Visakhapatnam, a member from the previous World Cup-winning campaign in South Africa, claimed four wickets in seven outings. Like Joshitha, Shabnam’s control with the ball throughout the tournament was the highlight of her contribution.
With an economy rate of little over 4 runs per over, Shabnam delivered 17 overs across the seven games with a best of 2/9.
