India won their maiden ICC title in women’s cricket as Shafali Verma-led side lifted the inaugural U-19 World Cup with an emphatic seven-wicket victory over England at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom on Sunday.
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With the win, Shafali Verma became the sixth Indian captain to win the U-19 World Cup after Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand, Prithvi Shaw and Yash Dhull, who all won the men’s tournament.
Full List of Indian Captains to win Under-19 World Cup -
Mohammed Kaif (2000) -
India clinched the U-19 World Cup for the first time under the captaincy of Mohammed Kaif. India’s Yuvraj Singh was named the player of the tournament as India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets at Colombo’s SSC. In fact, India clinched the tournament unbeaten.
Virat Kohli (2008) -
Virat Kohli led India to their second U-19 World Cup title after beating South Africa by 12 runs via the D/L method at the Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Ravindra Jadeja was also part of that team.
Unmukt Chand (2012) -
Unmukt Chand helped India clinch their third Under-19 T20 title, beating Australia by 6 wickets at the Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville in Queensland. The skipper scored and unbeaten 111 to lead the team to victory but has since returned for India and moved to the USA.
Prithvi Shaw (2018) -
Prithvi Shaw captained India to their record-breaking U-19 World Cup title as India defeated Australia by 8 wickets in the final at Mount Maunganui. Shubman Gill was awarded the player of the tournament as India overtook Australia for the most title wins in the age category tournament.
Yash Dhull (2022) -
Yash Dhull led India to their fifth ICC Under-19 World Cup victory, beating England by 4 wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda.
Shafali Verma (2023) -
Shafali Verma-led India won their maiden ICC title in women’s cricket, beating England to lift the inaugural U-19 World Cup at the JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom in South Africa. Shweta Sehrawat finished the tournament with the most runs as Titas Sadhu was the player of the match in the final.
ALSO READ | ‘Incredible Feeling’: Shafali Verma Gets Emotional, Breaks Down After U-19 Women’s T20 WC Win - WATCH
After the title triumph, Shafali could not hold back tears at the post-match presentation.
“The way all the girls are performing and backing each other, so happy. Incredible feeling. Thanks to the staff, the way they have been backing us every day and telling us that we are here for the cup and because of them we are here. All thanks to them. The players have been backing me a lot," she said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Three years ago, Shafali had to be consoled by her teammates when India were bundled out for 99 in chasing 185 against Australia in the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Now, with tears of joy during the post-match presentation ceremony at Potchefstroom in 2023, she and Indian women’s cricket have indeed come a long way.
“Thanks to BCCI for giving me this beautiful team and really happy for winning the cup. She (Shweta Sehrawat) has been excellent and has followed all the plans made by the staff. Not just her, Archana, Soumya and I can’t really take the names but they all have been incredible," she added.
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