kuala lumpur
Left-arm spinner Ayushi Shukla took a brilliant four wickets to take India to the final of the Under-19 Women’s Asia Cup with a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka at the Beaumas Cricket Oval on Friday. Ayushi, who took three wickets in India’s previous Super Four win over Bangladesh, took figures of 4-10 and played a crucial role in restricting Sri Lanka to 98/9 in 20 overs.
She was well supported by fellow left-arm spinner Parunika Sisodia, who took two wickets, while Shabnam Shakeel and Drithi Kesari took one wicket each as, barring Manudi Nanayakkara’s 33, no Sri Lankan batsman reached 25. Pie.
Chasing, despite losing Ishwari Avasare and Sanika Chalke early, G Trisha and G Kamalini ensured India stayed on track in their pursuit of 99 runs. Trisha, a member of the Indian team that won the 2023 Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup, scored 32 runs in 24 balls and shared a 63-run partnership with G Kamalini, who scored 28 runs in 26 balls.
But Sri Lanka made a comeback in the match as Chamudi Munasinghe dismissed Trisha while Shashini Gimhani dismissed Kamalini. India’s decline continued with the cheap dismissals of captain Nikki Prasad and wicketkeeper Bhavika Ahire. But a calm and composed Mithila Vinod hit four fours, including the winning run, and remained unbeaten on 17 off 12 balls as India achieved the target in 14.5 overs. Ayushi was ultimately named player of the match for her four wickets. India will now face the winner of the Bangladesh-Nepal Super Four game in the title match of the inaugural edition of the tournament to be held at the Beaumass Cricket Oval on Sunday.
Brief Score: Sri Lanka 98/9 (Manudi Nanayakkara 33; Ayushi Shukla 4-10) lost to India 102/6 (G Trisha 32, G Kamalini 28; Chamudi Munasinghe 3-16, Shashini Gimhani 2-18) by four wickets.
