DUBAI: International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced “the team of the Tournament” after India defeated England in the final of the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.
England’s Grace Scrivens has been named the captain of the side. The team has three Indians — Shweta Sehrawat, Shafali Verma and Parshavi Chopra — while three players from England have also been named in the lineup.
In a lineup with incredible hitters like Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, it was Shweta Sehrawat who shined the brightest for India in the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
With a polished 92* against South Africa to open their U19 Women’s T20 World Cup campaign, the team’s vice-captain set the standard for the rest of the competition. With 297 runs at an average of 99 and a strike rate of 139.43, she eventually finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer. She added two additional half-centuries (74* vs. UAE and 61* vs. New Zealand).
There wasn’t much that England’s Grace Scrivens couldn’t do at the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, including bat, bowl, and captain. It is understandable why the England captain received the Player of the Tournament award despite playing in the final and losing.
Scrivens, who batted first, finished as the second-highest run-scorer with 293 runs, three fifty-plus runs, and an average of 41.85. Her 93 off 56 versus Ireland gave her the highest score of the competition.
Throughout the competition, the stylish Shafali Verma demonstrated her offensive prowess with the bat and her leadership prowess as captain.
Although Shafali would have preferred to bat more consistently, the pace at which her runs were scored (at 193.25) made up for it. Her 34-ball 78 against the UAE was a power-hitting display as she smacked the bowlers for 12 fours and 4 sixes. With 172 runs, she was the third-highest run scorer in the competition.
The captain contributed with useful overs as well, taking four wickets in seven games at a mere 5.04 economy.
Only two wickets were taken by Parshavi Chopra in India’s first three games of the tournament. She made up for it, though, by finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup with 11 wickets in six games.
The leggie dominated Sri Lanka in the final Super Six game, recording statistics of 4/5. She followed that up with a 3/20 in the crucial semifinal match against New Zealand and a 2/13 in the Final, where she also claimed the wicket of Ryana MacDonald-Gay, England’s top scorer for the day.
U19 Women’s T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament: Shweta Sehrawat (India), Grace Scrivens (captain) (England), Shafali Verma (India), Georgia Plimmer (New Zealand), Dewmi Vihanga (Sri Lanka), Shorna Akter (Bangladesh), Karabo Meso (Wicket-keeper) (South Africa), Parshavi Chopra (India), Hannah Baker (England), Ellie Anderson (England), Maggie Clark (Australia) and Anosha Nasir (12th Player) (Pakistan). (ANI)