India’s victory in the U19 World Cup of Women’s T20 T20 2023: Shikha Pandey

Shikha Pandey, an all-around player, claims that India’s victory at the Women’s Under-19 World Cup has motivated the senior team going into their own T20 World Cup.

India defeated England in the inaugural U19 World Cup final in South Africa last month by a margin of seven wickets.

Before India’s debut match against Pakistan, Pandey remarked that “the entire team was an inspiration back home.”

We all agreed that since they had already done it, we ought to follow suit for the good of the nation.

The 33-year-old Pandey, who has only recently joined the Indian side, added: “Many people claimed that the 2017 Women’s World Cup, where we lost to England in the championship match, was the turning point.

“However, I believe that India hosting the World Cup is. For a young child to understand that it inspires them.

“Having women who are 15 years old on a winning World Cup side indicates where the sport is going,” said one observer of Indian cricket. “It is simply the beginning of something really great for cricket in India.”

Going into the senior team’s own World Cup, which is being hosted by South Africa, Pandey has great expectations for India.

We should be strong contenders, she asserted. “I’m definitely looking forward to playing with and learning from the best international cricket players in the world.

We have a great chance to win the World Cup, in my opinion.

Verma might expand the game.
Portrait of Shafali Verma
Shafali Verma, a teenage opener for India, would be expected to score a lot of runs at the World Cup. The 19-year-old all-rounder Shafali Verma captained the victorious team.

Together with Richa Ghosh, a teammate from the U19s, Verma has been selected for the World Cup roster.

Pandey added, “Sometimes I wish I was like Shafali Verma because she doesn’t have any baggage and she is someone who is truly confident in her talents.

“She has a very upbeat personality and is all about savoring each moment. Shafali and other characters are essential to the growth of the game at home.”

“I was devastated.”
In August of that same year, Pandey made her one-day international and Test cricket debuts, both against England. Pandey made her T20 international debut in 2014 against Bangladesh.

She is now ready to make a comeback after taking a break of 15 months, and she wants to atone for missing out on the India World Cup team last year.

“Playing for your country and winning the World Cup is the ultimate ambition of playing cricket at any level, so I’m hoping we go one step further this time and win it,” she said.

“I’ve worked incredibly hard for the past year and had to put in the tough effort to get where I am, so it feels great to be back in the side.

“Since I am only a human, I was genuinely heartbroken. Since I’ve always been told as a child that hard effort and dreams don’t go to waste, I just kept working hard and was confident that I still had a lot of cricket left in me.”

Finally, there was that delivery!
The ball that bowled Australia batter Alyssa Healy during India’s tour of that country in 2021 was described as “the ball of the century” by some analysts because it came back in sharply after pitching outside off stump.

Pandey recalled the wicket and called the delivery “an inswinger’s dream delivery.”

Healy is the kind of player who can win you the game in just four or five overs, so getting her out was very significant, according to Pandey.

“I’m incredibly glad the ball made it through, and people will remember it when I’m no longer playing cricket.”