India’s U19 Women’s cricket team proved to be too much of a force for South Africa, winning their second consecutive T20 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
India beat the Proteas by 9 wickets in a fairly one-sided match from the get-go, closing the game in 11.2 overs. South Africa won the toss and captain Kayla Reyneke decided to bat first at the Bayuemas Oval.
Besides Jermma Botha’s 16 from 14 balls, the Proteas top batting order crumbled under pressure as India’s bowling attack was swift with the wickets. Simone Lourens, Diara Ramluckan, Reyneke and Karabo Meso failed to make any real contributions to the Proteas total.
Mieke van Voorst and Fay Cowling’s partnership gave the Proteas some hope in the tail end, but player of the match Trisha Gongadi was on fire and broke up the partnership.
Gongadi produced phenomenal figures of 3/4 from her four overs.
The Proteas were eventually bowled out for 82 runs and didn’t give themselves much of a fighting chance against the title defenders. Gongadi was even more handy with the bat, carding 44 from 33 deliveries, laden with eight 4’s and a strike rate of 133.
India only lost one wicket, with Reyneke making the only breakthrough for the green and gold, removing Kamalini G from the wicket.
Sanika Chalke and Gongadi held off the Proteas bowling attack and wrapped up the game for India in 11.2 overs, winning them a second T20 World Cup title. Chalke said it felt surreal hitting the winning runs and dreamt of the win for the past two years.
The Proteas walk away from the World Cup, however, with many positive takeaways having only lost the final.