Women's U-19 T20 World Cup 2023: Team India off to a winning start with 7-wicket victory vs South Africa

Opener Shweta Sehrawat's explosive knock on Saturday helped India crush South Africa by 7 wickets in their opening match of the Women's U-19 T20 World Cup in Benoni.

Chasing 167 for victory, Shweta Sehrawat powered the Indian cause with an unbeaten 92 off 57 balls while fellow opener and captain Shafali Verma smashed 45 off 16 to make light work of the target which they reached in just 16.3 overs.

The duo were involved in an opening partnership worth 77 runs in 7 overs which made the job easier for the rest of the batters in the Indian team.

Sehrawat smashed a whopping 20 fours during her innings while Verma hit nine and a six as they took South African attack to the cleaners.

All-round Shafali Verma stars with the ball

Earlier, South Africa posted 166 for 5 on the board at Willowmoore Park with opener Simone Lourens top-scoring for the team. Simone hit 61 off 44 balls while middle-order batter Madison Landsman contributed with a quickfire 17-ball 32.

For India, Shafali Verma picked two wickets with the ball while Sonam Yadav and Parshavi Chopra took one each to restrict the South Africans to a gettable total.

Vice-captain Shweta Sehrawat was named Player of the Match for her knock.