India, the favorite team to take home the first U-19 Women’s Asia Cup, storms into the title clash, courtesy of a near-perfect bowling effort under the guidance of the 17-year-old left-arm spinner Ayushi Shukla, that stunned Sri Lanka in a comfortable four-wicket victory, at Bayoumas Cricket Oval in Bangkok, Friday. Her brilliant bowling led to a very low total that Sri Lanka could manage to produce, of 98. This led to a victory for India in a canter.
Ayushi Shukla Shines with the Ball in U-19 Women’s Asia Cup semi-final
Advertisement
Ayushi had been on song already in the Super Four stage, where she picked three wickets against Bangladesh, but it was much better against Sri Lanka, for she ended with bowling figures of 4-10, leaving Sri Lanka’s batting in shambles. Her spin foxed the Sri Lankan batters, and she was very instrumental in dismantling the opposition.
Ayushi received very good support from her teammate left-arm spinner, Parunika Sisodia who claimed two wickets. Shabnam Shakeel and Drithi Kesari further picked one wicket each to dismiss Sri Lanka. It was a low-scoring batting effort because the top order was very poor since no one had managed to pass the mark of 25, except for Manudhi Nanayakkara with 33 as the best score, in the game. Eventually, Sri Lanka was bowled out just for 98 runs off 20 overs.
Steady and composed, India continued the chase of a modest 99 runs. Eswari Avasare and Sanika Chalake’s quick dismissals didn’t seem to derail the Indian side though as G Trisha and G Kamalini had been stabilizing the scoreboard with a rock-solid 63 runs to see India through to the final.
Advertisement
She who was part of the successful Indian team in the 2023 Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup proved to be very crucial in anchoring the innings. She took 32 runs off 24 balls showing good aggression and composure under pressure. Kamalini again provides substantial support, contributing 28 runs off 26 balls. Notwithstanding the two quick successes, India kept control on the chase.
Sri Lanka managed to fight back a bit when Chamudi Munasinghe dismissed Trisha and Shashini Gimhani sent Kamalini packing, but the Indian middle order crumbled with captain Nicky Prasad and wicketkeeper Bhavika Ahire going down in quick succession. The runs still needed were done with calm and composed Mithila Vinod playing the finisher role. Mithila, with sharp boundary strokes, including the winning runs, remained not out on 17 runs off 12 balls and guided India to the target in just 14.5 overs.
Player of the Match: Ayushi Shukla
Ayushi Shukla was named the Player of the Match for her stellar contribution to the ball in the U-19 Women’s Asia Cup semi-final. For her four-wicket haul, it turned the game in favor of India. With the quality display of her exceptional spell, Ayushi gave a good demonstration of the quality India’s young spin attack has on offer. And it has really been quite consistent throughout this tournament.
A clinical all-around performance ensured that India emerged victorious over Sri Lanka, proving to be a dominant force in the tournament. Ayushi Shukla would have been leading the charge with the ball, while players such as G Trisha and Mithila Vinod showed all-around solidity with the bat. India will now look forward to their final challenge and strive to lift the U-19 Women’s Asia Cup trophy.
ALSO READ: Shaheen Afridi To Debut In BPL With Fortune Barishal
Advertisement