ICC Women's U-19 T20 World Cup: 'Only focused on winning the Under-19 Cup' - Shafali Verma after title triumph

Not satisfied with the 2023 ICC Women's U-19 T20 World Cup conquest, batting sensation Shafali Verma has already set her eyesight on replicating the sensation with the senior women's team in less than two weeks. She will get her opportunity when the ICC Women's T20 World Cup gets underway on February 10 in South Africa, the same country where the nation just won the inaugural U-19 world competition. Shafali, 19, has already proved herself in India's senior side and is eager to make the visit to South Africa even more special with another silverware.

"No, the big one also. I am someone who focuses on the task at hand. When I entered the Under-19s, I only focused on winning the Under-19 Cup, and we have won that today [Sunday]. I will look to take this winning confidence with me and win the senior World Cup. I will try and forget this and get involved with the senior setup and gel with the team and win the World Cup," Shafali said when asked if the U-19 trophy was the only one she was hoping to take back from South Africa.

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India on Sunday bested its maiden International Cricket Council (ICC) ICC title in women's cricket as many qualified teenagers raised the maiden U-19 World Cup with a seven-wicket win over England. The Shafali-led Indian team drove to do what its seniors could not by removing the final limitation in a global event.

India first skittled out England for a paltry 68 in 17.1 overs and returned to achieve the nominal target in 14 overs, thus lifting the coveted trophy. Shafali was a part of the Indian unit that lost during the final hindrance at the 2020 T20WC when Australia won by 85 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

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Shafali articulated that she still feels the ache from the beating. "Melbourne was a very emotional day for me in that final game. We didn't win the game. When I joined the Under-19 team, I was thinking, 'you know, we have to win this Cup.' I'm telling all the girls, 'We have to win this Cup. We are here for the Cup.'" Shafali recalled.

"We had lost the World Cup, and it was tears of sadness. Today, they were tears of happiness because we achieved what we came here for. I tried controlling it, but it couldn't happen. I will see this as a big achievement and use this to learn something more. I will try to score more runs for India, and I will not be satisfied with this Cup. It is just the beginning," concluded Shafali.

(With inputs from PTI)