India win by seven wickets in one-sided clash
India thrashed England by seven wickets to clinch their first-ever Women's Under-19 World Cup in a one-sided clash at the Senwes Cricket Stadium in South Africa's Potchefstroom.
Opting to bowl first, India bowled out England for a paltry 68 runs before chasing down the target in 14 overs.
In reply to the meagre target, India's Soumya Tiwari and Gongadi Trisha scored 24 runs each.
England sent skipper Shafali Verma (15) and Shweta Sehrawat back to the pavilion but Soumya and Trisha partnered up to chase down the target.
For England, Hannah Baker, Grace Scrivens, and Alexa Stonehouse took a wicket each.
Earlier, England struggled on the big stage and were bowled out for just 68 as a result of excellent bowling and outstanding fielding.
Ryana MacDonald-Gay top-scored for the English side as she smashed 19 runs off 24 balls. Meanwhile, Alexa Stonehouse and Sophia Smale could gather 11 runs each.
For India, Titas Sadhu, Archana Devi, and Parvashi Chopra claimed two wickets each, while Mannat Kashyap, Shafali Verma, and Sonam Mukesh Yadav secured a scalp each.
Scrivens was awarded the player of the tournament.
"Big congratulations to the U-19 girls cricket team for winning the World Cup. Well done on making the nation proud," Rohit, senior men’s skipper, tweeted.
Kohli called the win a "special moment".
"Women’s Cricket in India is on the upswing and the World Cup triumph has taken the stature of women’s cricket several notches higher," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah wrote on Twitter.
"This is surely a path-breaking year."
The BCCI announced a cash prize of more than $600,000 and invited the squad to witness the third and final T20 men’s match between India and New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
The victory comes ahead of the inaugural women’s Indian Premier League scheduled in March.
BCCI recently earned $572.5 million as it announced the winners of bids to own five WIPL teams.
The media rights for the league were sold for $116.7 million to Viacom18 for the next five seasons.
— Additional input from AFP