‘Tears of joy and elation’: Shafali Verma breaks down after leading India to historic U19 World Cup title - Watch
Skipper Shafali Verma failed to control her emotions during the post-match presentation ceremony.
January 29, 2023 marks another glorious chapter in Indian cricket history as the U-19 women's unit led by Shafali Verma defeated England by seven wickets to win the inaugural edition of the U-19 T20 World Cup. India, who invited England to bat first at the Senwes Park, Potchefstroom in South Africa, bundled them up for 68 in 17.1 overs. Titas Sadhu, Archana Devi, and Parshavi Chopra ran through the England batting line-up as they scalped two wickets each. Skipper Shafali Verma, Mannat Kashyap, and Sonam Yadav also picked a wicket each.
India in response chased down the target in 14 overs, with Soumya Tiwari and Gongadi Trisha scoring 24 runs each. Shafali was dismissed for 15, while Shweta Sehrawat, who finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament, managed 5 off 6 balls.
Following the historic triumph skipper Shafali failed to control her emotions during the post-match presentation ceremony. Shafali broke down as she thanked everyone for extending their support throughout the campaign.
The video of the moment was shared by ICC on social media. “Tears of joy and elation,” they wrote.
Shafali finished as the third-highest run scorer of the tournament. She accumulated 172 runs from seven matches at an average of 24.57, which also included a half-century.
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced ₹5 crore cash reward for the entire unit. "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. I am delighted to announce INR 5 crore for the entire team and support staff as prize money. This is surely a path-breaking year," Shah tweeted after India's triumph.
The secretary also invited the entire unit to Ahmedabad on Wednesday, where India are scheduled to play the third T20I against New Zealand.
“I invite @TheShafaliVerma and her victorious team to join us at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad and witness the third T20I on 1st February. This humongous achievement surely calls for a celebration.”
While the entire unit will return to India, Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh might stay back in South Africa, where the Women's World T20 will be held next month. The duo are part of the Indian squad, who kick-off their campaign against Pakistan on February 12.
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