It’s been decided! India will face New Zealand and England go head-to-head with Australia, in the first-ever U19 Women’s T20 World Cup! Before the games get going on Friday, we want to recap some moments from the tournament so far.
Day 1 started with a bang and showed just how much we had to look forwards to this competition! It was a shock start as Bangladesh seized the win over Australia after they chased 130 with 13 balls still to go. The UAE then produced a fine performance against Scotland, reducing the side to 99/9 from their full 20 overs, the result looked in the balance for a while with the UAE losing a few early wickets. But Mahika Gaur and Samaira Dharnidharka steadied the ship and took UAE to a win. Elsewhere, India won their opening match by 7 wickets against South Africa, with Verma hitting 45 from just 16 balls! The final game of the day saw Sri Lanka take a victory over the USA, winning by 7 wickets.
We have continued to see nothing but class from the countries participating in the competition this year. We have seen many historic moments made, including Indonesia’s first-ever win at an ICC international tournament. It was a spectacular occasion with Indonesian captain Ni Luh Dewi leading from the front, taking the first 5-wicket haul of the competition.
With 38 matches played so far, it is India who has set the score to beat, scoring a massive 219/3 in their innings against the United Arab Emirates. As the intensity increases during the closing stages of the competition, it will be interesting to see just how high these scores could reach.
Looking forward now to the semi-finals, England sit at the top of Group 2 after winning all their games in an impressive fashion, meaning they will face the team in second place in Group 1, Australia. New Zealand sit just below England, they both finished on 8 points, so the overall table position was based on net run rate. New Zealand will go on to face the top of Group 1, India. All 4 teams have been dominant with both the bat and ball over the course of this competition, so there will surely be fireworks during these semi-finals.
The semi-finals take place on Friday, with the winners of each game playing each other in the final on Sunday 29th January!