The finalists of the Indian Under-19 side of the Women's U19 T20 Women's Cup will meet England on Sunday, January 29. Ahead of the mega match of the inaugural edition of the tournament, the team were visited by a special sports personality — And probably the biggest — in Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra!
The star Javelin Thrower, who also won silver at the World Championships in 2022, was seen interacting with the members of the team that beat the likes of hosts South Africa as well as New Zealand in the semifinals. Photos of the same were shared on Twitter by the BCCI.
“A Gold-standard meeting! 👏👏 Javelin thrower & Olympic Gold medallist @Neeraj_chopra1interacted with #TeamIndia ahead of the #U19T20WorldCup Final!”, BCCI's Twitter post read.
Neeraj's visit motivated and inspired the girls to push themselves harder and work towards their goal of becoming world champions.
Meanwhile, before the big day, Indian skipper Shafali Verma celebrated her birthday and posted a picture on social media. She wrote, “To another year of growing in Strength, Wisdom & Grace -x, Thanks to every single person who took the time to wish me on my Birthday And also thanks to Neeraj Chopra to make my birthday more special.”
Shafali Verma has faced heartbreak on multiple fronts in ICC tournaments. But when she takes the field to represent the country in the Women's U-19 T20 World Cup final when they take on England in Potchefstroom on Sunday, as the captain, a lot will be riding on her performances.
It has been a whirlwind ride in the competition for the Teens in Blue, who have won all but one of their matches of the tournament, but their one loss against Australia was a debilitating one.
India reached the final after a comprehensive win over New Zealand in the semifinals. It was a complete performance — with both ball and bat — as the team first dismissed the White ferns for 107 runs, and then scored the same within 14.2 overs to secure an eight-wicket victory.
The English teenagers also played out a similar performance, but their match was a lot more dramatic than the first semifinal between India and New Zealand.