Shafali Verma-led India suffered their first defeat of inaugural Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup 2023 on January 21. Australia registered a comprehensive win by seven wickets to end India's unbeaten run as they bundled them out for a paltry 87 in the Super Six clash.
After winning the toss, Aussie skipper Rhys opted to field first. India did not get off to a flyer. Skipper Shafali (8) became Milly Illingworth's first victim. Half-centurion of previous encounter, Gongadi Trisha (4) lost her wicket to Milly in the next over. Sonia Mendhiya (2) failed to make a mark and got bowled by Maggie Clark.
Richa Ghosh could not score in double digits either and lost her wicket to Maggie after scoring seven runs. In-form opener Shweta Sehrawat's resistance came to an end in the 11th over as she got dismissed by Sianna Ginger. Shweta scored 21 runs from 29 deliveries including thre fours. Sianna then got the wicket of Parshavi Chopra (8) in her next over.
Boundaries were hard to come by and it seemed that India's aim to play out the whole 20 overs. Sianna struck again to send Mannat Kashyap (1) back to the dugout. Hrishita Basu and Titas Sadhu scored 14 runs each but the former played as many as 23 deliveries. India got all out for 87 with seven deliveries left in the innings.
Australia did not get off to a perfect start either. Titas Sadhu got rid of Kate Pelle (17) who had hit three fours during her short stay at the crease. Sianna got out in the fifth over to Archana Devi whereas Ella Hayward lost her wicket to Sonam Yadav. Australia were 37/3 and India were still in the game.
But Claire Moore and Amy Smith's unbeaten 51-run partnership ensured that Australia chased down the target of 88 easily. Australia won the match with 37 balls to spare. Claire scored 25 runs from 28 deliveries including one four and a six. On the other end, Amy scored 26 runs from 25 deliveries with as many boundaries.
Despite the massive loss, it is not the end of road for India. They will face Sri Lanka in their ‘perform or perish’ encounter on January 22. As India won their group stage encounters by big margins, they are likely to progress to the semi-final on the basis of net run rate.
