Women's U19 World Cup: [WATCH] Shafali Verma gets emotional during post match ceremony
India women's U19 team captain Shafali Verma was seen in tears after the team scripted history by clinching the inaugural ICC Women's U19 World Cup on Sunday, January 29, at the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.
India crushed the England U19 side by seven wickets in the final to win the hearts of millions back in the country.
During the post-match presentation ceremony, Shafali Verma, who turned 19 just one day before the marquee game, burst into tears ahead of her interview with the official broadcaster.
The Rohtak-born player couldn't hold off on expressing her emotions for a few seconds before the anchor cheered her on.
Here's the video:
Shafali, who came into the tournament after playing 74 international matches for the senior women's team across all formats, scored 172 runs in seven innings at an average of 24.57 and a strike rate of 193.26.
Speaking in the post-match presentation about her team's remarkable achievement, Shafali Verma said:
"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 everyday. The players have been backing me a lot. Thanks to BCCI for giving me this beautiful team and really happy for winning the cup."
While acknowledging the talent and efforts of her opening partner Shweta Sehrawat, who was the highest run-getter of the tournament with 297 runs, Shafali added:
"She [Shweta Sehrawat] has been excellent. Not just her the others have been really incredible as well. No, the big one also [When asked if this is the only major trophy she's going to pick up this February]."
What a moment this for the @TheShafaliVerma led #TeamIndia 🙌🙌 https://t.co/4yfQMZlKNe
How the Shafali Verma led-India U19 team defeated England in the final
Shafali Verma won the toss and elected to bowl first in the Women's U19 World Cup final. The Indians dictated the terms right from the word go as they picked up three wickets in the powerplay overs, including one of England skipper Grace Scrivens for just 4 runs.
England could never make a comeback in their innings with Titas Sadhu (2/6), Parshavi Chopra (2/13) and Archana Devi (2/17) bowling excellently to bowl them out for 68 in 17.1 overs.
Although India lost the wickets of openers Shafali Verma (15) and Sehrawat (5) in the first three overs, Soumya Tiwari (24*) and Gongadi Trisha (24) with their calm and composed approach finished the paltry chase in 14 overs.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a price money of INR 5 crore for the U19 Women's historic triumph in South Africa.