India continued their fine run this U19 World Cup with another remarkable win versus the United Arab Emirates. Topping Group D for the right reasons, India has 4 points in their kitty and what was fascinating was how they carried their momentum from the previous game versus South Africa onto this one and dismantled UAE.
UAE won the toss and decided to field first. Batting first, India posted a competitive 219/3 on the board. Shweta Sehrawat was once again phenomenal with the bat and partnered with Shafali Verma to give India a fine start. They made the most out of the powerplay and hit consistent boundaries while also displaying a fine brand of cricket in the middle. It was only in the 8th over when Verma was dismissed by Indhuja Nandakumar for 78 off 34 that UAE got their first breakthrough. Her brilliant 78 was a knock that had 12 boundaries and 4 maximums. Sehrawat partnered with Richa Ghosh to then take the momentum away from UAE completely. Richa Ghosh batted with a lot of firepower pummelling the bowling to score 49 off 29 until Theertha Satish got rid of her in the 18th over when India got to the score of 200. G Trisha in her cameo of 11 striking at 220 added to the woes of the UAE and with Shweta Sehrawat unbeaten on 74, India ended up with a massive 291/3 on the board.
UAE never looked like they were in the run chase as the target of 220 was always going to be daunting. Nevertheless, they had a good start getting 17 off the first over until Theertha Satish, their skipper was dismissed. With Samaira Dharnidharka and Rinitha Rajith getting dismissed consecutively without affecting the scoreboard much, UAE was three down. Mahika Gaur’s indifferent 26 abruptly came to an end when she was run out and with Lavanya Keny’s 24 coming off an unbelievable 54 deliveries, the situation only got more complicated for UAE who lost by a massive margin of 122 runs, thereby giving India a huge boost to their NRR. The Indian bowlers had a good day and led from the front with their disciplined bowling effort. Shabnam MD, Titas Sadhu, Mannat Kashyap and Parshavi Chopra with their solitary wickets were phenomenal in restricting the UAE batters to a dismal 97/5.
Shafali Verma for her brilliant knock of 78 was deservingly adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ and in Group D, India solidified their position at the top of the table with this crucial win.
India U19 won by 122 runs
🇮🇳India U19: 219-3 (20)
Shafali Verma: 78 (34)
Shweta Sehrawat: 74* (49)
Samaira Dharnidharka 1-34🇦🇪UAE U19: 97-5 (20)
Mahika Gaur: 26 (26)
Lavanya Keny: 24 (54)
Parshavi Chopra 1-13#CricketTwitter #U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/P9V7Ws2TuG— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 16, 2023
Brief Scores: IND 219/3 (S Verma 78, S Sehrawat 74, R Ghosh 49; S Dharnidharka 1/33) defeated UAE 97/5 (M Gaur 26, L Keny 24; T Sadhu 1/14, M Kashyap 1/14, P Chopra 1/13) by 122 runs
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.