Sachin Tendulkar, Jay Shah felicitate World Cup-winning U19 Women's team in Ahmedabad

While Team India geared up to take on the Kiwis in the series decider at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, accompanied by BCCI officials, felicitated the Indian U-19 women’s cricket team following their triumph at the World Cup on Sunday.

The young guns etched their name into the history books after thrashing England in a one-sided finale to become the first-ever U-19 World Cup champions. The young Indian skipper Shafali Verma, who could not hold back her tears after her team's triumph a few days ago, was handed the cheque of INR 5 crore by the iconic Sachin Tendulkar, BCCI president Roger Binny and other BCCI officials. Her teammates also joined her as a sold-out crowd in Ahmedabad acknowledged the achievements of the budding superstars of the future.

Shah had made the announcement via his Twitter handle, which read, “It is with great delight I share that Bharat Ratna Shri Sachin Tendulkar and BCCI Office Bearers will felicitate the victorious India U19 team on Feb 1st in Narendra Modi Stadium at 6:30 PM IST. The young cricketers have made India proud and we will honour their achievements."

Shafali Verma, who is already one of the most sought-after talents in the world at the young age of 19, led the team to success, swatting aside England comfortably in the title bout. Former Indian cricketer and batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar congratulated the team for their unprecedented achievement.

"Indian women’s cricket is on the up! First the announcement of the #WPL & now the #U19T20WorldCup win. Congratulations to the entire women’s team on winning the inaugural U19 World Cup.  This win will inspire a whole generation to take up sports," the iconic batter posted on his social media handle.

Meanwhile, the Indian team led by Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bat first in front of a vociferous Ahmedabad crowd in the series decider against the Blackcaps. Umran Malik was drafted into the eleven in place of leggie Yuzvendra Chahal.

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