India beat England to qualify for final

Defending champions India stormed into the final of the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup 2025 after defeating England by nine wickets in the second semi-final at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Parunika Sisodia (3/21) and Vaishnavi Sharma (3/23) were the pick of the bowlers for the Indian women’s cricket team while Kamalini Gunalan was the top-scorer with the bat as she remained unbeaten on 56 from 50 balls.

Chasing a target of 114 to win, Indian openers G Kamalini and Gongadi Trisha gave their team a solid start and posted 44 runs in the powerplay.

G Kamalini and Gongadi Trisha brought up the 50-run partnership in the eighth over as India looked to be cruising towards the target.

However, Phoebe Brett dismissed Gongadi Trisha to break the partnership in the ninth over to hand last edition’s finalists England some hope.

The loss of Gongadi Trisha led to Sanika Chalke joining G Kamalini at the crease and the two Indian batters adopted a measured approach for the rest of the run chase. India reached the target with five overs and nine wickets to spare.

Earlier in the day, England, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, made a brisk start courtesy of Davina Sarah T Perrin, who took on the role of the aggressor.

However, twin strikes from Parunika Sisodia in the fifth over reduced England to 37/2. The loss of two quick wickets saw captain Abi Norgrove join Davina Sarah T Perrin in the middle and the pair put on a 44-run stand for the third wicket.

Their partnership was broken in the 12th over thanks to Aayushi Shukla, who dismissed England’s top-scorer in the match Davina Sarah T Perrin for 45. Aayushi Shukla accounted for Abi Norgrove in her next over to leave England in a spot of bother.

Wickets kept tumbling for England as Vaishnavi Sharma combined with Parunika Sisodia and picked up four more wickets to stifle the run flow.

The English eventually struggled to a total of 113/8 at the end of the 20 overs.

India will play South Africa in the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 final as the Proteas got the better of Australia in the first semi-final earlier in the day.

Both India and South Africa boast a perfect record in the tournament, having won all their matches in the lead-up to the final on Sunday.

IND-W vs ENG-W ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025, semi-final brief scores: England 113/8 in 20 overs (Davina Sarah T Perrin 45, Parunika Sisodia 3/21) lost to India 117/1 in 15 overs (G Kamalini 56*, Phoebe Brett 1/16) by 9 wickets.

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