By Victor Kanayo
A report from Malaysia has revealed that India have won the Under-19 T20 World Cup after storming to a nine-wicket victory over South Africa in the final.
Having bowled South Africa out for 82, India needed just 11.2 overs to chase down the target in Kuala Lumpur, BBC reports.
Gongadi Trisha was the standout performer for India, taking 3-15 with the ball before smashing an unbeaten 44 from 33 balls in the chase.
South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first but were soon in trouble, slipping to 20-3 in the powerplay and never recovering.
Runs were hard to come by as India’s spinners took control. With wickets falling at regular intervals, the Proteas struggled to gain momentum before being bowled out on the final ball of the innings.
India had no such problems in their chase, as Trisha quickly put them in command with a flurry of early boundaries.
The 19-year-old, already a rising star, finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 309 runs in seven matches—133 ahead of England’s Davina Perrin in second place.
Sanika Chalke sealed the victory by hitting the winning boundary two balls into the 12th over, sparking celebrations for India, who also won the inaugural tournament in 2023.
