As India entered the final of the 2025 Women's Under 19 T20 World Cup, we take a look at the big contribution from spinner Vaishnavi Sharma
Vaishnavi Sharma made history by becoming the first Indian to claim a hat-trick in the Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup when she single-handedly demolished Malaysia on her debut with figures of 5-5.
By the 15th over the hosts were back in the dug out, getting ready to defend a paltry 31 against the might of the defending champions India. Meanwhile India captain Niki Prasad, asked Vaishnavi to lead them off the field for the exemplary performance.
“I’ve been seeing her for a very long time. Her coming in and playing her first game for her country, she has done a really good job,” Prasad said after that win.
Prasad had indeed witnessed Vaishnavi’s temperament on big occasions. Back in 2022, she was leading Karnataka in the final of Women’s Under 19 T20 Trophy, when she came across Vaishnavi.
Chasing 138 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Karnataka were unable to deal with the left-arm spinner’s guile. There was no telling whether the ball would loop above the eye-line or skid off the surface once it landed. The areas she was bowling wasn’t the problem, but the drift was. In that final at Motera that day, Vaishnavi claimed 2-21 from her four overs and 50% of her balls were dots. Efforts from other spinners in the team helped Madhya Pradesh win by 36 runs and clinch the title.
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For her Madhya Pradesh teammates, Vaishnavi was having an off day. Two days before, she had reduced Delhi’s batting to rubble with 3-5 by bowling 20 dot balls in her four overs. She was instrumental in that tournament win claiming 23 wickets from eight matches, eight more than her second-placed teammate Soumya Tiwari. For these performances, Vaishnavi was awarded the 2022 Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy for Best Woman Cricketer (Jr Domestic) by the BCCI.
In 2023, Prasad and Vaishnavi came face-to-face yet again in the Women’s Under 19 T20 Trophy but under different circumstances in the quarterfinal. Karnataka edged out MP by six runs. Karnataka were in rollicking form winning all five of their group matches, while Vaishnavi was among wickets which was reflective of MP’s indifferent form in the group stages.
Even then, there were two instances where she made life difficult for the batters. Against Mizoram, the spinner bowled 22 dot balls from four overs, got two wickets and gave away just 2 runs in an all out of 14. In the quarterfinal against Karnataka, she bowled a maiden in four overs and claimed the prized wicket of Prasad who was batting on 42.
The Gwalior native had these qualities since she started training from the age of five at Tansen Cricket Academy in her city. Her ability to bowl overs at rapid speed comes from looking at another left-arm allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, while her skillful loop has shades of her idol Radha Yadav.
It’s a similar scenario with India’s Under 19 side that has steamrolled all of their opponents to enter the final of the 2025 Women’s Under 19 T20 World Cup and Vaishnavi is sitting at the top of the wicket takers list with 15 scalps from five matches at a stunning average of 3.4 and an economy of 2.8. After her debut against Malaysia, the left-armer claimed three wickets in three consecutive matches. Her 3-15 against Bangladesh in the first Super Sixes clash was only bettered by her 3-5 from two overs reduced Scotland to 58 all out and set up a mammoth 150-run victory for India and ushered them into the semis.
In the semifinal against England, Vaishnavi channelised her best to snap the middle order. The 19-year-old sent back Charlotte Stubbs with a length ball that came off the glove and landed on the leg stump. While that was a strange dismissal to have, Vaishnavi tempted Prisha Thanawala into a big swing to deep midwicket with a catcher ready and then plucked Charlotte Lambert’s swat right back at her from the air.
Within a span of six balls, England went from 89/5 to 92/8 and never recovered. They were coasting along nicely at 81/3 when Vaishnavi (3-23) with her fellow spinners Parunika Sisodia (3-21) and Aayushi Shukla (2-21) had snipped their wings.
Playing in her first high-profile tournament, Vaishnavi has been nerveless, doing the same things that put her on the map in the domestic circuit. As India takes on South Africa in the final on Sunday, the Gwalior native’s contribution will be crucial to successfully defend the title.
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