Sehrawat's masterful innings, combined with Verma's explosive start, set the tone for a dominant performance from the Indian side.
Opener Shweta Sehrawat smashed an unbeaten 92 after skipper Shafali Verma blazed away to a 16-ball 45, propelling India to a resounding seven-wicket victory over South Africa in the opening match of the inaugural Women's U-19 T20 World Cup on Saturday.
Sehrawat's masterful innings, combined with Verma's explosive start, set the tone for a dominant performance from the Indian side, who will now look to build on this impressive start as they continue their campaign.
India were set a challenging target of 167 after South Africa opted to bat first at Willowmoore Park. The opening duo of Shafali and Sehrawat got off to a blazing start, amassing 77 runs in just seven overs. This impressive performance set the tone for the rest of the match, giving India a strong foundation to build upon.
Shafali, having already played 51 T20Is, 21 ODIs, and two Test matches for the senior team at the international level, looked in top form as she expertly manipulated the South African bowlers, setting her side up for a resounding victory.
Shafali attacked the bowlers from the outset, while Sehrawat maintained an impressive strike rate throughout her 57-ball innings, which featured an impressive 20 boundaries.
Earlier, the South Africans got off to a flying start with Simone Lourens (61 off 44 balls) and Elandri Janse van Rensburg (23 off 13) combining for 56 runs in just four overs. Left-arm spinner Sonam Yadav provided India with their first breakthrough when she had Rensburg caught behind by Richa Ghosh, a senior India player.
Shafali got the ball rolling by dismissing her counterpart Oluhle Siyo for a duck. Madison Landsman then contributed 32 off 17 balls, while Karabo Meso and Miane Smit made quickfire scores of 19 and 16 respectively. However, the home team's momentum was halted when their top-scorer Lourens was run out in the 17th over, a pivotal moment in the match, as they finished on 166 for five.
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