Hat-trick of T20 World Cup wins for Malayalis; Joshitha joins elite list of champions
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India retained their Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup title with a convincing 9-wicket triumph over South Africa in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Gongadi Trisha was star of the final, with three wickets and an unbeaten 44 off 33 balls. Wayanad native V J Joshitha was the only Malayali in the squad.
Niki Prasad-led India dismissed South Africa for 82 runs after losing the toss. Parunika Sisodia, Aayushi Shukla and Vaishnavi Sharma claimed two wickets each. The Indian response was unflustered, taking victory in just 11.2 overs. Sanika Chalke (26) remained unbeaten alongside Trisha.
Keralite Najla was on standby in the Indian squad that triumphed last year. While Najla did not play much part in the title win, Joshitha played a significant part in the latest triumph.
Joshitha started the event with a player-of-the-match award for two wickets against West Indies. The right-arm pacer could not bag a wicket in the final, but finished the event with six wickets.
Sanju Samson was part of Indian men's T20 World Cup winning side last year. Now, 18-year-old Joshitha has joined an elite list of Malayalis, also comprising Sunil Valson and S Sreeshanth to bag a cricket World Cup medal. After Najla in 2023 and Sanju in 2024, Joshitha has completed a hat-trick of T20 World Cup wins for Kerala.
Brief scores: South Africa 82 in 20 overs (Mieke van Voorst 23, Gongadi Trisha 3/15, Parunika Sisodia 2/6, Aayushi Shukla 2/9, Vaishnavi Sharma 2/23) lost to India 84/1 in 11.2 overs (Trisha 44 not out, Chalke 26 not out)