Read Scroll.in’s full coverage of the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup here.
TOSS: India opt to bowl first, both teams unchanged.
First innings: England 68 all out.
Second innings: India 69/3 in 14 overs.
9.00 pm: And so India are World Champions. They started as one of the favourites. They finish as the winners. You knew Shafali & Richa, but now likes of Shweta, Trisha, Soumya, Titas, Archana, Mannat, Parshavi, Sonam, Hrishita... become names to watch out for.
The primary credit goes to the players and staff of course. BCCI put together a pool of players early, good volume of domestic cricket, then vs international sides. Named a couple of senior stars for good measure and a coach who knew how to work with them. They clearly identified this as a tournament to be won and succeeded.
A day to savour for Indian cricket. Thanks for joining us in our coverage, right from Mumbai to here.
Presentation: Medals for the winners now.
Presentation: Medals for the runners-up first.
Player of the tournament: Grace Scrivens. What a tournament she had. 293 runs and 9 wickets for the England captain. Well deserved.
Player of the final: Titas Sadhu. What a spell to start off the final. 4-0-6-2.
Nooshin Al Khadeer: A proud India coach. What a run she has been on.
India 69/3 (14 overs): INDIA ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS! Soumya Tiwari, No 18, scores the winning run.
Scores level: Tiwari lofts one over for a couple of runs.
India 66/3 (13 overs): Just three to get.
WICKET! 12.5: Gongadi Trisha 24(29) b Alexa Stonehouse Ah, Trisha won’t be in the middle for the win but she has played some delectable shots today to take India to the brink. Goes cross-batted and is bowled. India 66/3
India 60/2 (12 overs): Well, Trisha will do more than just grind it out to be in the middle till the end. Two superb fours in that over, the highlight this pull shot below.
India 50/2 (11 overs): Left-arm pace of Stonehouse for the first-time today. Half-hearted appeal for a caught behind in that over, but nothing doing.
There is a drizzle it would seem but there is also bright sunshine.
India 48/2 (10 overs): Time for a drinks break with India 21 runs away. Trisha not quite able to get going but being in the middle at the end of the chase will be a huge motivation to grind it out.
India 44/2 (9 overs): The trophy is getting closer. A bit uppish but Tiwari holds the pose as she plays a square cut for four. Just 25 runs away now.
India 38/2 (8 overs): The partnership is slow but steady and India won’t mind that. Tiwari helps herself to a four down the leg side off Smale.
India 32/2 (7 overs): Just a couple of runs Groves over.
India 30/2 (6 overs): India have been kept in check by England in the powerplay, could have even better if that Tiwari catch was taken. India don’t have to panic just yet.
India 27/2 (5 overs): Four, dropped! Baker gets driven for four over cover but she keeps her length full and gets the edge that is put down by Scrivens at first slip. Came fast, but that was catchable. Baker is just brilliant though, terrific control again.
India 22/2 (4 overs): For those who believe in such things, apologies from the blogger to Sehrwat and family for that untimely jinx.
WICKET! 3.4: Shweta Sehrawat 5(6) ct Hannah Baker b Grace Scrivens The tournament’s two top run-getters... Scrivens gets rid of Sehrawat. She is walking the huddle talk, is Scrivens! Game on. India 20/2
Not that India’s senior team is short of opening options, but in case Shafali Verma has a less-than-ideal World Cup, think there *could* be pressure on her place post tournament. And Shewta Sehrawat could figure in that discussion. Just looks like a class act.
WICKET! 2.1: Shafali Verma 15(11) ct Alexa Stonehouse b Hannah Baker That’s the wicket England wanted. Sure, Sehrawat is still there but Shafali could have ended this chaase in a couple of overs. This gives England an in. India 16/1
India 16/0 (2 overs): And the first six of the match, surprise surprise, comes from the bat of Shafali Verma. Around 15-20 balls off Shafali could end England’s hopes, they need her wicket quickly.
India 5/0 (1 over): Was that a dropped catch? Unsure after replays as Sehrawat walks away from her stance to oohs and aahs. After a bad first ball, a terrific first over from the leg-spinner Baker.
Baker to Shafali, the run-chase is underway with a four off the first ball
We will back ourselves, we are still in this. Let’s give it a go out there,” is the message from Grace Scrivens in the field.
England 68 all out in 17.1 overs: Fantastic bowling and catching by India and they couldn’t have asked for a better display on the field after opting to bowl. England will come hard with their sharp bowling unit but this should be, in theory, a comfortable chase.
WICKET! 17.1: Sophia Smale 11(7) ct & b Sonam Yadav The 15-year-old completes the proceedings for India. Tapped back to the bowler. England 68 all out
WICKET! 16.4 Alexa Stonehouse c Yadav b Kashyap 11 (25 balls) Kashyap has her first of the day, soft dismissal as Stonehouse finds the fielder at cover. England 68/9
England 66/8 (16 overs): Couple of decent overs for England here. Reminder, they will be delighted to get anywhere close to 100 from here on.
England 63/8 (15 overs): Couple of fours for Sophia Smale as she gets off to a bit of a flier.
WICKET! 14.1: Hannah Baker 0(1) st Richa Ghosh b Shafali Verma Terrific glovework from Richa and the captain strikes. Baker caught on the line. England U19 53/8
England 53/7 (14 overs): Fantastic catch a while earlier, Archana dropped an easier chance off Stonehouse but India keep striking.
WICKET! 13.5: Josie Groves 4 (5) Run Out Soumya Tiwari Oh dear. Groves with a little lethargy setting in as she completed a single... but actually she won’t. Terrific direct hit from India’s No 18. England 53/7
England 52/6 (13 overs): Shafali into the attack and concedes 6 runs in her first over. She has been quite economical in the tournament.
WICKET! 11.1: Ryana MacDonald Gay 19(24) ct Archana Devi b Parshavi Chopra That is a stunner. Archana Devi’s save at the deep-third boundary in the semifinal was a memorable moment for me. IT was just a superb athletic effort. And now she betters it with a stunning diving catch to dismiss the only England batter to have looked in good touch so far England 43/6
England 39/5 (10 overs): Reminder that England were in a similar (perhaps worse position against Australia) in the semifinal. This is all India at the moment but certainly not a done deal.
WICKET! 9.6: Charis Pavely 2(9) lbw Parshavi Chopra Oh dear, that is hugely unfortunate. for Pavely. There was a much better appeal for LBW against Macdonald-Gay earlier in the over that was given not out. This seemed not out on a couple of counts potentially but given out. England 39/5
England 36/4 (9 overs): While all England batters have struggled, Macdonald-Gay (who was dropped on 0) has now hit another good-looking shot for four. Down the ground off Mannat’s first over for four.
England 30/4 (8 overs): Parshavi Chopra, player of the match in India’s last two wins, is into the attack and bowls a tidy first over
Titas Sadhu with 4-0-6-2 in a World Cup final. If she had dreamt a perfect spell overnight, it might have appeared something like that. Superb.
WICKET! 6.2: Seren Smale 3(9) b Titas Sadhu Oh what a delivery! A Bengal seamer hitting the timber in a big World Cup match. Lovely. This one moved in off the seam and Smale was beaten all ends up England 22/4
England 22/3 (6 overs): Richa Ghosh will be counting the runs Macdonald-Gay scores. Lofted four down the ground off Devi’s bowling. Lovely shot. Bit of momentum at the end of the powerplay.
Aditya Chaturvedi: So happy for G Trisha. Struggled in the field in the semifinal and made a number of errors. But she steps up in the final and takes a screamer to help India get the all-important wicket of England’s captain Grace Scrivens.
England 17/3 (5 overs): Oh Richa Ghosh! India’s fielding and catching was off to a fine start but that wasn’t a good moment. For starters, Richa should’ve taken it comfortably but otherwise, was heading straight to the slip fielder. Macdonald-Gay with a life.
WICKET! 3.6: Grace Scrivens 4(12) ct G Trisha b Archana Devi Two wickets in one over for Archana Devi! And it’s the key wicket of England captain Grace Scrivens, who was the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament heading into the match. Drives one on the up, but it doesn’t travel much and the long off fielder takes a smart catch, especially given she dropped one early in the semifinal. England U19 16/3
WICKET! 3.3: Niamh Holland 10(8) b Archana Devi A clear ploy by Holland to premeditate moving to her right but she overdoes it in the over and is bowled around her legs. England 15/2
Aditya Chaturvedi: In a campaign that was dominated by the spinners in the team, Titas Sadhu has quietly but surely made her mark. Almost always finds her mark quickly and gets wonderful, subtle movement in the air and off the pitch.
England 10/1 (3 overs): Brilliant ground fielding in that over, at least two boundaries saved it must be said. India have made a good start to the final. But every run will matter knowing England are capable of defending very little. Just three from Sadhu’s second, as Scrivens plays and misses a few.
England 7/1 (2 overs): Boundary, but a streaky one for Holland! Outside edge goes past the slip fielder.
England 1/1 (1 over): Top start for India. From the other end, the off-spin of Archana perhaps to counter the LHB Scrivens early.
WICKET! Over 0.4: Liberty Heap 0 (2) ct & b Titas Sadhu Here we go, India strike early. Banged in hard, Heap goes for big heave, but the ball is skied straight up for Sadhu to complete a simple return catch. England 1/1
Celebrities alert: Oh, the senior England team - not long to go for the World Cup - are watching the final. Heather Knight, Kate Cross spotted.
Titas Sadhu with the ball in hand. Scrivens and Heap in the middle. We are all set.
Over in Australia, Novak Djokovic has defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in time for the start of this final.
Shafali Verma:
“We are just thinking of backing each other in the final. We are going to enjoy it and give our hundred percent. It’s about going out there and enjoying the game. I’ve told the teammates ‘don’t stress, just give your 100 percent without thinking of it as the final. Just believe in yourself.”
Grace Scrivens:
“It’s about resetting and going to the next game. We want to play with a positive mindset, and play fearless cricket. I’m sure yesterday’s collapse will not affect us.
By now you know most of them, but here’s a primer to India’s squad:
U19 Women’s T20 World Cup: You know Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, meet rest of India’s squad
Sub plot alert: Sehrawat and Scrivens will be competing for the leading run-scorer of the tournament spot today (of course neither would care as long as their side wins the match, we are sure)
Team news: Both teams unchanged
India XI: Shafali Verma (c), Shweta Sehrawat, Soumya Tiwari, G Trisha, Richa Ghosh (wk), Hrishita Basu, Titas Sadhu, Mannat Kashyap, Archana Devi, Parshavi Chopra, Sonam Yadav
England XI: Grace Scrivens (c), Liberty Heap, Niamh Holland, Seren Smale (wk), Charis Pavely, Ryana Macdonald Gay, Alexa Stonehouse, Josie Groves, Ellie Anderson, Sophia Smale, Hannah Baker
Toss update via ICC:
India U19 won the toss and chose to bowl
Watch: Lovely moments. Neeraj Chopra shares some thoughts with the Indian U19 Women’s Cricket Team in South Africa.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup final between India and England, taking place at the JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom.
Not long to go for the senior ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, this is the first major final in cricket of 2023. The inaugural edition of the long-awaited U19 Women’s World Cup has lived up to the expectations with some fascinating results along the way but the cream has risen to the top. Two of the best teams in the pre-tournament discussions are here to compete for the title. Sure, at this level, winning the title is secondary, the development of these young cricketers is paramount. But make no mistake, both these sets of players would love to get their hands on that trophy and be remembered as the first champions.
Also read:
U19 Women’s T20 World Cup: You know Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, meet rest of India’s squad
ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup: Squads, format, schedule, broadcasters – a ready reckoner
Screenshots in the blog courtesy FanCode and ICC