With a dominant seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup match on Sunday, India got their campaign back on track in Group 1 Super Six stage. Following India’s seven-wicket loss to Australia on Saturday, their bowlers had an outstanding effort, limiting Sri Lanka Under-19 to 59 runs in the allotted 20 overs.
Parshavi Chopra, a sixteen-year-old leg-spinner, was the highlight of the Indian bowlers, taking four wickets, while left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap grabbed two as the duo raced through the opposition batting line-up. After losing skipper Shafali Verma, wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, and Shweta Sehrawat, India scored the winning mark in 7.2 overs.
Soumya Tiwari (28 not out) then hammered five boundaries off 15 deliveries as India made a mockery of the modest score. Earlier, after winning the toss, India opted to bowl first and met with immediate success as Bengal seamer Titas Sandhu caught Nethmi Senarathna in the first ball.
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The spinners grabbed control fast, and Sri Lanka were soon enchanted by their spell, with just captain Vishmi Gunaratne (25) and Umaya Rathnayake (13) scoring in double figures.
The bowlers’ precision can be gauged by the fact that only one run was handed up in extras. The Indian bowlers bowled a tight line, leaving no room for their opponents to play their strokes freely, and only three boundaries were hit during the Sri Lanka innings.
Shafali, an Indian senior team opener, should have taken advantage of the opportunity against Sri Lanka on Sunday after a forgettable innings against Australia on Saturday in which she got eight runs. But the 18-year-old only made 15 before being caught in front by off-spinner Dewmi Vihanga, who took all three Indian wickets.
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