A clinical show from South Africa led by skipper Kayla Reyneke saw them becoming the first team to book their spot for their maiden appearance in the 2025 Under-19 World Cup final, courtesy of an impressive 5-wicket win in the 1st semi-final against Australia led by skipper Lucy Hamilton at the Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur.
India led by skipper Niki Prasad battled it out against England led by skipper Abi Norgrove in the 2nd semi-final at the same venue to book their place in the final against South Africa.
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India spins their way back into the contest after Davina Perrin’s blockbuster
The England openers Davina Perrin and Jemima Spence came out all guns blazing after skipper Abi Norgrove won the toss and opted to bat first at the Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur. The onslaught led by Davina Perrin resulted in the Indian new-ball bowlers being put under pressure for the first time in the 2nd edition of the tournament. The pair scored at a rate of almost 10 runs an over, en route to their 37-run opening partnership.
The 19-year-old left-arm spinner Parunika Sisodia struck twice in the 5th over removing Jemma Spence and Trudy Johnson in a space of three balls to bring India back into the contest. Skipper Abi Norgrove joined the opening batter Davina Perrin at the crease and the duo took England closer to the 100-run mark with a quick, run-a-ball 44-run 3rd wicket partnership.
The 17-year-old left-arm spinner Aayushi Shukla landed a massive body blow as she cleaned up an ominous Davina Perrin (45 off 40 balls) to provide the much-needed 3rd breakthrough for India in the 12th over of the innings. After the departure of the swashbuckling English opening batter, the Indian spinners switched to auto-pilot mode and dragged the game firmly back towards the Women in Blue.
They restricted England to 113/8 in their quota of 20 overs, putting the squeeze on the opposition batters, to 32/5 in their remaining 8 overs of the innings. Skipper Abi Norgrove (30 off 25 balls) and Amu Surenkumar (14 off 13 balls) were the only other batters to enter into the double digits with the bat for England. Parunika Sisodia (4-0-21-3), and Vaishnavi Sharma (4-0-23-3) picked up three wickets each with the ball for India, while Aayushi Shukla (4-0-21-2) triggered the English collapse, while Gongadi Trisha (4-0-18-0) was also impressive in her spell.
The clinical show from the top-order powers India to back-to-back finals
Chasing a target of 114, the Indian openers Gongadi Trisha and wicket-keeper batter G Kamalini stepped out with fearless intent, scoring over 7 runs an over in the powerplay. The pair settled all the nerves in the Indian camp en route to their 60-run opening partnership. Phoebe Brett gave some hope for her side by providing the first breakthrough in the form of Gongadi Trisha (35 off 29 balls) in the 9th over of the run chase.
The Indian vice-captain Sanika Chalke joined wicket-keeper batter G Kamalini at the crease and the duo guided India over the line, with 9 wickets in hand and five overs to spare. G Kamalini notched her 2nd consecutive half-century (56* off 50 balls) but, not before survived a scare when she was batting on 25 (28 balls) in the 10th over of the run chase bowled by Amu Surenkumar when Norgrove took a potential catch at cover, but the ball seemed to be grassed as per the TV umpire.
Phoebe Brett (4-0-30-1) was the only wicket-taker with the ball for England and Tilly Corteen-Coleman (3-0-17-0) was impressive in her economical showing. Parunika Sisodia was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive spell (4-0-21-3) with the ball for India.
India will face South Africa for the title clash on 2nd February 2025 at the Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur, from 12 PM Indian Standard Time (IST).
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