India beat England, lift inaugural ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup

Potchefstroom (SA): A brilliant new-ball performance was followed by a calm run-chase as India cruised to victory over England in the final, sealing their triumph with seven wickets in hand and six overs to spare.

Having won the toss and decided to put England into bat, India’s bowlers more than justified the decision with a ruthless display.

Opening bowlers Titas Sadhu (2/6) and Archana Devi 2/17) ripped through the England top order, reducing them to 22/4 after six overs, with key batswoman Grace Scrivens (4) one of those to fall.

Sadhu bowled her four overs straight through, going for just six runs and picking up two wickets. Devi was slightly more expensive, but her crucial dismissals included Scrivens and Niamh Holland (10).

Wickets continued to tumble, with England not able to see out their full allocation of overs despite resistance from Ryana MacDonald-Gay (19).

And the final wicket fell with 17 balls still remaining, leaving India a target of just 69 to win.

England had pulled off a great escape in the semifinal against Australia, but lightning did not strike twice.

Shafali Verma’s aggressive 15 from 11 balls cut into the target early on, but the removal of both openers gave India a temporary scare. Hannah Baker (1/13) had Verma caught, before Scrivens removed Shweta Sehrawat (5).

But Soumya Tiwari (24 no) and Gongadi Trisha (24) settled things down with an excellent and composed partnership, ICC reported.

The pair got to within one hit of the target when Trisha went for glory and was cleaned up by Alexa Stonehouse (1/8).

But India didn’t have to wait long for the winning moment, with Soumya knocking a single to see it through, exactly what her side required on the big stage.

And the celebrations were huge as India claimed the title in the first-ever ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. (UNI)