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India took a step closer to defending their crown after breezing past Engand with a comfortable 9-wicket victory in the semi-finals of the ICC Women's U19 T20 World Cup on Friday.
With an emphatic win, India has booked with South Africa in the final on Sunday. Spinners set the tone of the game in the favour of the defending champions by thwarting England's batters. The inspiring effort from the spinners restricted England to just 113/8. In reply, India's openers G Kamalini and Gongadi Trisha, provided an imposing start. The opening pair laid the foundation of India's successful chase in the powerplay. With their belligerent display, the duo combined to put 44 runs on the board without the loss of any wickets at the end of the powerplay. Phoebe Brett broke the 60-run opening stand by cleaning up Gongadi Trisha on 35(29). Sanilka Chalke joined Kamalini to keep the momentum on India's side. Kamalini continued to charge on England bowlers and brought up her fifty with a classic shot to find the boundary rope. A couple of deliveries later, Kamilani found the boundary rope once again to finish the game in style with five overs to spare. Earlier in the match, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, England got off to a confident start led by Davina Perrin and skipper Abigale Norgrove. Perrin smashed 45 in 40 balls, laced with two towering sixes and four boundaries. Norgrove contributed with her efficient 30(25), including three fours and a sole maximum. Their efforts lifted England to 73/2 at the halfway mark in the first innings. However, India's bowlers shifted the tides and turned the game around in the next 10 overs. Parunika Sisodia and Aayushi Shukla were the main figures in the fightback. Shukla struck crucial blows, removing both Perrin and Norgrove, to slow England's scoring momentum. From that point, England's innings completely collapsed. Vaishnavi Sharma delivered a remarkable 16th over, picking up three wickets as England crumbled to 92.8. A late surge by Amrutha Surenkumar propelled England to 113/8. Breif Score: England 113/8 (Davina Perrin 45, Abi Norgrove 30; Parunika Sisodia 3-21) vs India 117/1 (G Kamalini 56*, Gongadi Trisha 35; Phoebe Brett 1-30). (ANI)
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