Nepal’s U-19 women’s cricket team captain, Pooja Mahato, has been included in the ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the top 12 players on Monday, with Pooja being the only associate nation player to make the list.
During the tournament held in Malaysia, Pooja took 9 wickets in the group stage matches. She also made valuable contributions with the bat, scoring 70 runs at an average of 20.33. In Nepal’s playoff victory against Malaysia, Pooja was instrumental, taking 4 wickets and remaining unbeaten on 23 runs, leading her team to a 7-wicket win and securing a consolation victory.
Despite her outstanding individual performance, Nepal failed to advance beyond the group stage. The team suffered defeats against Bangladesh (5 wickets), Scotland (1 wicket), and Australia (83 runs).
In the tournament final, India clinched the championship by defeating South Africa by 9 wickets. India dominated the Team of the Tournament, with four players earning a spot—Gongadi Trisha, G Kamalini, Aayushi Shukla, and Vaishnavi Sharma. Trisha, the Player of the Tournament, was the highest run-scorer with 309 runs.
South Africa’s Kayla Reyneke was named the captain of the Team of the Tournament.
