The Indian women’s U19 team kicked off their U19 World Cup title defence with a thumping victory over West Indies in their Group A clash at Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, January 19.
Led by a sensational bowling effort, the Indian women bowled the Windies women out for just 44 before romping home with nine wickets in hand and in just the fifth over.
India skipper Niki Prasad called it right at the toss and opted to bowl first. Nothing went West Indies way as Indian bowlers breathed fire. Speedster Joshitha V J opened the wicket column with back-to-back wickets in the fourth over. She trapped Windies skipper Samara Ramnath LBW before sending back Naijanni Cumberbatch for a golden duck.
Spinners Aayushi Shukla and Parunika Sisodia then joined the party as they picked two and three wickets each, respectively. The Indians kept making inroads at regular intervals and didn’t give a sniff to the opposition.
Kenika Cassar spent some time on the crease and was the top scorer with 15 from 29 balls. However, there was nothing much for the Windies as they were shot for 44.
The Indians had a paltry target in front of them and despite losing Gongadi Trisha to Jahzara Claxton in the first over, they hardly faced any issues. Mumbai Indians’ 1.60 crore signee G Kamalini and Sanika Chalke carried the Indian team pretty easily. Kamalini made an unbeaten 16, while Chalke was not out for 18 as they helped India chase down the 45-run target in 4.2 overs.
India are the defending champions of the U19 Women’s World Cup, having won it in 2023 under Shafali Verma’s captaincy. They have made a strong start to their title defence and would be hoping to replicate the brilliance of the 2023 batch.
The Women in Blue, who are at the top of Group A, will next face Malaysian women on January 21. Their last group game will be against Sri Lankan women on January 23.
