India defeated South Africa by nine wickets to win the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025, with Trisha Gongadi taking center stage with bat and ball. At the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Trisha, who finished as the tournament’s top run scorer, bowled South Africa out for 82 with 3/15. After that, she scored 44 not out to lead the run-chase and lead India to victory and a successful 2023 trophy defence.

After guiding India to victory in the 2025 U19 Women’s T20 World Cup at the Bayuemas Oval, captain Niki Prasad said the team lived up to their promise of dominating the competition, retaining their title with an undefeated record.

South Africa were unable to score quickly enough in their innings and lost frequent wickets as India’s spin bowlers took control, but this event marks good progress from the first competition two years ago, where they failed to move beyond the Super Six stage.

South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first in dry circumstances in a match between the tournament’s two undefeated teams, immediately positioning their top player, Jemma Botha, in the middle. The opener’s innings was always going to be vital to their chances of defeating India, and she hit 37 off 24 balls in the semi-final match against Australia, a knock that proved essential to winning.

Parunika Sisodia clean bowled Simone Lourens at the end of the second over with an angled delivery that nipped back into middle and leg stump, giving India a response. A string of first-over boundaries, including a one-bounce four down the ground, was a great way to get things started. The defending champions needed a nerve-setter, but Botha was the crucial wicket, and it was always going to take something exceptional to take it.

Botha tried a heave into the leg side in an attempt to mimic a Shabnam Shakil delivery. Instead, wicket-keeper Kamalini G lunged, extending to her right, and grabbed onto a fantastic one-handed catch, giving her a heavy edge and causing her to glance back in dismay. South Africa’s innings lost momentum as a result, and India quickly took control.

The spin spinners held South Africa to a standstill after Aayushi Shukla bowled Diara Ramlakan the very next delivery. The slow, spin-friendly pitch made it nearly impossible to find boundaries, and South Africa managed just 13 runs between the fourth and tenth overs. Despite absorbing the pressure, wicketkeeper Karabo Meso and captain Kayla Reyneke fell in consecutive overs while trying to make big strokes.

When she was stumped off a well-flighted Trisha delivery, South Africa lost steam, despite Mieke van Voorst’s late-game explosion of an 18-ball 23, which included three fours. Another wave of wickets followed, leaving South Africa all out for 82. The best bowlers were Trisha (3-15), Sisodia (2-6), and Shukla (2-9) and the tournament’s top wicket-taker Vaishnavi Sharma (2-23) all contributed.

South Africa came very near to taking the crucial wicket in the opening over because they knew they had to knock India out to win the title. Nthabiseng Nini took the new ball and found Trisha’s outside edge, but the ball sped to the boundary and was painfully just out of wicket-keeper Meso’s reach.

In the second over, Trisha toyed with danger by hitting a cover drive on the up that narrowly missed the defender. Then, to add insult to injury, he smashed another ball over the infield for a one-bounce four. The opener proceeded to score at her tournament-average strike rate of 149.7, adding three more fours in the fourth over.

Soon after, Kamalini (8) was brilliantly taken in the deep by Lourens, giving South Africa their first wicket. However, Trisha kept up her aggressive play, hitting eight boundaries in her innings and becoming the first player to reach 300 runs in a single tournament edition with a single in the ninth over.

In the 12th over, Sanika Chalke hit the winning runs with a four to the square leg boundary, igniting wild celebrations in the Indian side. Chalke also smashed four boundaries in a breezy 26 not out to support Trisha.

“I believe we all made an effort to remain composed and grounded. We simply continued to perform our duties. We could have chosen batting as well if we had won the toss. However, we simply wanted to get out there and get the job done. Our support staff deserves all the praise for fostering the children and making this possible. We have the best facilities thanks to BCCI.Being here and ensuring that India maintains its leadership position makes me very delighted. Playing in the World Cup and doing this for India is a unique opportunity. I stated at the beginning of the tournament that our goal was to dominate and keep India at the top. We will undoubtedly leave a legacy of ICC victory trophies and winning a lot of trophies for India,” said Niki after the match ended.

“I want to thank my support personnel and team. I use my strengths when I bowl. Today, I did the same thing. In this game, we simply continued doing what we had done in the previous games. Mithali di is someone I admire. I adore her. After the final concluded, Trisha Gongadi remarked, “I hope even the upcoming World Cups come to India.”

Scores in Brief

South Africa v India – Bayuemas Oval, Kuala Lumpur
South Africa 82 all out in 20 overs (Mieke van Voorst 23, Jemma Botha 16; Gongadi Trisha 3/15, Parunika Sisodia 2/6)
India 84 for one in 11.2 overs (Gongadi Trisha 44 not out, Sanika Chalke 26 not out; Kayla Reyneke 1/14)
Result: India won by nine wickets