Baby Proteas run out of steam against India at U19 World Cup
Kayla Reyneke’s side battled courageously in the final, but the Indians had too much firepower

SA’s spirited challenge at the Under-19 T20 Women’s World Cup was terminated by a talented, well-resourced and efficient Indian team in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Kayla Reyneke’s side battled courageously in the final, but found the Indians, who won the inaugural competition in SA two years ago, had too much firepower.
After choosing to bat on a slow deck, the Baby Proteas were in early trouble when opener Simone Lourens was bowled for a duck by Parunika Sisodia, one of four spinners in the Indian line-up, in the second over.
It set the tone for the rest of the innings and while the dynamic Jemma Botha struck three fours in her brief innings of 16, the way she plays is reliant on others being able to stay at the crease, which unfortunately for the young Proteas, they were unable to do.
India go back-to-back at the #U19WorldCup 🏆🏆
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) February 2, 2025
They beat the U19 @ProteasWomenCSA by nine wickets in the final 🏏🇮🇳#HereForHer | #SummerOfCricket pic.twitter.com/RV0aznCPQD
Botha was dismissed thanks to a magnificent one-handed reflex catch by Indian wicketkeeper Garima Kamalini and the rest of the SA innings turned into a procession. India used 16 overs of spin to bamboozle the Proteas, who were bowled out for 82 off the last ball of their innings.
Gongadi Trisha claimed 3/15 with the ball then delivered with the bat, scoring 44 not out to earn the player of the match award as India raced to victory by nine wickets with 8.4 overs to spare.
Reyneke, who broke down in tears at the post-match ceremony, said emotions were running high in the SA camp after a difficult campaign in which only their semifinal and Sunday’s final were not affected by the weather.
What an unbelievable catch by Lourens 🤩🤯
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) February 2, 2025
The @ProteasWomenCSA are not out of this yet 💪
📺 Stream #U19WorldCup on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw #HereForHer pic.twitter.com/rrLOO00wCJ
“We've worked very hard for this moment. I couldn’t have asked for better. We’ve had a good run in the tournament,” she said.
The Proteas whose journey to Malaysia — a first trip overseas for many of the players — took two days, then had their warm-up match rained out. All of their group stage matches and the two games in the Super Six phase were also hampered by rain, with reduced overs and Duckworth-Lewis-Stern equations making for a draining experience.
The semifinal victory over Australia was the first match where they didn’t have to worry about the weather and they produced a magnificent performance there, restricting the Australians to 105/8 and easing to a five-wicket victory.
For players such as Reyneke, wicketkeeper Karabo Meso and leg-spinner Seshnie Naidu, the next step in their careers will be the professional ranks. Botha, 17, may have another tournament at junior level in 2027 but such is her talent that an early call-up to the senior national team should not come as a surprise.
