In a battle between the hosts and heavyweights, India registers a crucial victory at Benoni in this Group D encounter. India certainly had the psychological edge coming into the match owing to their brilliant 4-0 series victory in the five-match T20I series preceding this World Cup but the Proteas team is one outfit that never be written off and considering this is a home World Cup, one can write them off at their own peril. South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first.
South Africa was off to one of the best possible starts as openers Elandri Janse van Rensburg and Simone Lourens were hitting boundaries effortlessly and were off to a flyer. Sonam Yadav got the first breakthrough for India when she got rid of van Rensburg for 23 and South Africa was at a commendable 56/1. Shafali Verma who has started to really come on her own, with her bowling got rid of skipper Oluhle Siyo for a golden duck.
Lourens was batting admirably and was partnered by Kayla Reyneke and they were slowly and steadily building on a partnership but Shafali was yet again instrumental in breaking the partnership and a timely run out Lourens for 61 meant South Africa was 4 wickets down with 126 on board. Madison Landsman’s 32 coupled with Karabo Meso’s and Miane Smit’s cameos of 19 and 16 ensured South Africa posted a mammoth 166/5 on the board. The Indian bowlers had a rather tough day with just Shafali Verma picking 2 wickets while Sonam Yadav and Parshavi Chopra had a wicket apiece as the rest of the bowlers were on the expensive side.
Fine knock comes to an end for Simone Lourens
Scored 61 in just 44 Balls for South Africa.#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/HXOHfgery1
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 14, 2023
India had a stiff total to chase and really needed their batters to step up and doing so in commendable fashion was Shafali Verma who scored a quick-fire 45 off 16 striking at 281 before she was dismissed by Smit.
4⃣4⃣4⃣4⃣4⃣6⃣
Shafali Verma smashes 26 Runs in an over 🔥🔥#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/grsn2IoMiv
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 14, 2023
India had a brilliant powerplay as the openers really set the platform but the middle order could not capitalize as G Trisha and Soumya Tiwari were dismissed for 15 and 10 respectively. Although wickets fell, Shweta Sehrawat, the vice-captain of the Indian team delivered when it mattered the most. She scored an unbelievable 92 off 57, an inning that had a remarkable 20 boundaries, and sailed India comfortably across the coast to a memorable victory. Except for Naidu, Smit, and Landsman, the rest of the South African bowlers remained wicketless and were thrashed mercilessly by Sehrawat who was at her attacking best. For her valiant 92*, Shweta Sehrawat was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’.
92* Runs in just 57 balls
What an outstanding knock to chase down 166 Runs🔥🔥#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/ND8eQ5qO6f
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 14, 2023
Brief Scores: SA- 166/5 in 20 overs (S Lourens 61, M Landsman 32; S Verma 2/31) lost to IND- 170/3 (S Sehrawat 92, S Verma 45; Smit 1/15, Landsman 1/20) by seven wickets with 21 balls remaining
🇮🇳INDIA U19 WINN!!
They beat South Africa U19 by 7 Wickets. #CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/mgPkXq4yA5
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 14, 2023
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.
