U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup: Shweta, Shafali guides India to a 7-wicket win over South Africa

India began their ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with stunning performances from opening batters Shweta Sehrawat (92 off 57 balls not out) and Shafali Verma (45 off 16 balls) to register a clinical seven-wicket win over hosts South Africa on the opening day in Willowmoore Park, Benoni on Saturday.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, South Africa got off to a lightning-quick start with a stunning flurry of early runs from openers Simone Lourens and Elandri Janse Van Rensburg doing the damage.

The score was 56/1 after just four overs when Janse Van Rensburg fell for 23 off 13, and the pace of scoring slowed slightly as the innings went on. Lourens top-scored with 61 from 44, before some late hitting lifted the Proteas up to an impressive 166/5.

A comprehensive victory for India against hosts South Africa in Benoni ✌️

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While chasing 167, India got off to the perfect start that they required, with captain Shafali Verma putting the host nation to the sword early on. Verma struck 45 from just 16 deliveries at a strike rate of 281.25, with nine fours and a six including one over where all six balls went to the boundary, before being caught off Miane Smit on the first ball of the eighth over.

But Verma’s fellow opener Shweta Sehrawat kept the momentum going and finished unbeaten on a brilliant 92 off 57 deliveries with twenty fours at a strike rate of 161.40 as India chased down their target in just 16.3 overs with still 21 balls remaining.

Brief scores: South Africa Women U19 166-5 in 20 Overs (Simone Lourens 61 not out, Madison Landsman 32; Shafali Verma 2/31) lost to India Women U19 170-3 in 16.3 Overs (Shweta Sehrawat 92 not out, Shafali Verma 45; Miane Smit 1/15) by 7 wickets.