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Who knew a glass factory labourer's daughter from Firozabad will play a significantly instrumental role in making India the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup champions. The Shafali Verma-led India thrashed England by seven wickets to clinch the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup title on Sunday (January 29).
The 15-year-old Sonam Yadav from Raja Ka Taal village in Firozabad left every opponent in a spin with her exceptional spin bowling. In the summit clash against England, she bowled an excellent spell of 3/1.
Living in the dirth of basic amenities Sonam defied all odds to don the blue jersey and make a name for herself in the world of cricket.
Sonam's father and brother work as a labourer in a glass factory. Her father Surendra used to do overtime to meet the expenses of Sonam's cricket pursuit. Sonam's brother Aman Yadav saw Sonam's urge to play cricket in her early days and took her to academy. Aman is himself a local cricket player, who understands how tough it is for a girl to play cricket. He made Sonam practice a lot which ultimately came handy for the teen spinner to come this far. When Sonam's brother saw his sister playing with the boys, he sensed that she will definitely play for India one day. He took Sonam to the Firozabad Cricket Academy where she used to play with the boys. Conditions were tough but Sonam achieved a position for herself riding on the strength of her hard work.
In a total of six matches in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup, Sonam took five wickets for India. In the opening match against South Africa, she snared 1/47. Sonam returned to pick 2/1 against Scotland while she took 1/22 against Australia.
It's just a start for Sonam, the kind of potential she has, she will soon break into the India's senior women's cricket team.
Talking about the match, England's lowly target of 69 did not pose a threat for India. Shafali (15) walked out to bat with the idea of finishing the run chase early. She struck one four and a six but got dismissed by Hannah Baker as Alexa Stonehouse took a spectacular catch diving forward. In the next over, the highest run-scorer of the tournament Shweta Sehrawat played a loose shot to lose her wicket. She became Grace Scrivens' victim in the fourth over after scoring five runs from six deliveries. Hannah produced another chance in her next over. Soumya Tiwari took the bait as she went for a booming drive and got dropped by first slip fielder.
After powerplay overs, India had 30/2 on the board. England fielders were not able to create pressure on Soumya and Gongadi Trisha. Also, the score on the board wasn't enough to force Indian batters to panic and take unnecessary risks. At halfway stage, India had 48/2 on the board. The partnership was broken by Alexa who got the consolation wicket of Gongadi (24) when India needed three more runs to win. Soumya scored the winning runs for India as they won the game with six overs to spare.
