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Captain Niki Prasad wants to make sure team “stays on top” after a dominant display in Malaysia where India cruised unbeaten to a second Women’s U-19 World Cup title

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2025″Coming at the start of the tournament, I think I mentioned one thing that we are here to dominate, we are here to make sure that India stays on top.”Those were the words of India captain Niki Prasad after she led India to a second consecutive Women’s Under-19 World Cup title in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. And dominate is what India did throughout the tournament, winning all their games and not letting any team score more against them than the 113 for 8 that England made in the semi-finals.India had chased in four of the six games before the final, and they won all those matches comfortably, never losing more than two wickets. After South Africa won the toss and chose to bat in the title bout, India just replicated the template that served them so well through the competition, their spinners playing a pivotal role in getting the opposition out for 82.Related

• G Trisha excels with bat and ball as India become back-to-back Under-19 champions

India then chased down the target in 11.2 overs, with G Trisha – who also returned figures of 3 for 15 with the ball – scoring an unbeaten 44.”We are definitely going to create this legacy of winning ICC trophies, winning a lot of trophies for India,” Prasad said at the post-match presentation ceremony.Prasad had to put behind her the disappointment of not making the squad for the previous Under-19 World Cup, which India won under the captaincy of Shafali Verma in 2023, but she’s soaking it all in now.”I think I’m feeling really happy that I am right here standing, making sure that India stays on top. And it’s obviously a special moment that we’re playing the World Cup and doing this for India,” she said.India lost the toss and were asked to bowl. Prasad said India drew from their experience bowling first in most of their matches in the competition.”I think all of us just tried to stay calm and down-to-earth and just stick to doing what our job is,” she said.G Trisha poses with her medal after taking India to the Under-19 World Cup glory•Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“I think if we would have won the toss we would have definitely chosen batting but you know throughout the tournament we’ve been bowling well and we’ve been bowling first [more] so nevertheless we just wanted to go out there and show what we can do.”Trisha, who was named Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament, dedicated the latter award to her father, who was in the audience.”Because of him I started playing cricket. I don’t think without him I would have been here,” said Trisha, who was also part of the team in 2023.While she played in the middle order in 2023, Trisha was pushed up to open this time around, and she ended up topping the run charts with 309 runs from seven matches with an average of 77.25. No other batter reached the 200-run mark. Her strike rate of 147.14 was also the best in the tournament.Trisha, who said she idolises Mithali Raj, has been working on her power game in recent times and credited India’s batting coach Apoorva S Desaii for giving her role clarity before the competition.”So we’ve been working on [my power game] since a while. For this tournament our batting coach Apoorva sir he has kept telling ‘you are going to open the innings and make sure you’re ready for it’,” Trisha said.Apart from her heroics with the bat, Trisha also returned seven wickets from the six games she bowled in.Parunika Sisodia struck in her first over of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup final•Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

India’s left-arm spin trio ‘like a family’

One of the major factors in India’s domination was their trio of left-arm spinners Vaishnavi Sharma, Aayushi Shukla and Parunika Sisodia, who were three of the four highest wicket-takers in the competition.While Vaishnavi topped the charts with 17 strikes, Shukla and Sisodia were not far behind with 14 and 10 wickets respectively.According to them, the three are close and have developed a great understanding between themselves.”I guess back in the room in the hotel, what all three we talk about is nothing related to our bowling,” Sisodia said after India’s win. “All our bowling just came and, you know, in the game coming on we just enjoyed ourselves.”We keep telling each other a little bit of, you know, what the batters are doing, helping each other [on the field].”At this point, I guess, we are just, you know, eye contacting and we are understanding each other now.”With all of them being left-arm spinners, is there competition or does this fact not affect them?”We are like the best friends,” Sisodia was quick to respond, with emphasis on the “best”. Vaishnavi, who was too overcome with emotion to speak a few minutes earlier was quick to interject: “We are like family actually. We all are family.”Asked about their plans for the future, Sisodia said: “I guess all of us… I mean, not just us [three] but the whole team, we all want to just go ahead and, you know, never look back from here.”Wicketkeeper and opener G Kamalini, who was animatedly photobombing the interview, then came in and summed up the feelings of the team in a line in Tamil: ” [We have lifted the World Cup].”

Premier League legend Sol Campbell has named his favourites to become the next invincibles – and it is not Mikel Arteta's side.

• Campbell names next invincibles
• Chooses rivals over Gunners
• Clear message to Arteta

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Campbell was part of Arsenal's 2004 invincible team and knows what it takes to win, so it might hurt Gunners fans to hear that he has named Liverpool as the most likely to replicate Arsene Wenger's side's achievement.

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  WHAT CAMPBELL SAID

  Speaking to BetSelect, he said: "Never say never. It’s very, very hard, but I think it’s doable. If you look at the talent in that Liverpool squad now, they’d be the most likely for me to go on to be the next Invincibles."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Only one side have come close to matching Arsenal's famous achievement from 20 years ago – and it was the Reds themselves in 2018-19. They did not even win the league that term, losing out to Manchester City in that instance.

• J.LEAGUE
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Liverpool will be looking to claim back-to-back Premier League titles under Arne Slot and would love to go one better than their 2019 side and finish the campaign unbeaten. They kick off their new season against Bournemouth on August 15.

Chelsea are planning to overhaul a key area of Enzo Maresca’s squad this summer, with BlueCo looking to sell two players and potentially open new talks for an elite-level star.

Chelsea continue transfer planning after botched CWC deals

In high-profile fashion, Chelsea missed out on a couple of anticipated deals before the pre-Club World Cup transfer deadline at 7pm on Tuesday.

Chelsea are in ongoing talks with Neymar-like forward – Sky journalist

The west Londoners are still working beyond the Club World Cup transfer deadline.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jun 11, 2025

While Chelsea do have the arrival of Liam Delap to celebrate, with the English sensation set to bolster Maresca’s forward options for the CWC, the Blues couldn’t quite get Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens or AC Milan’s Mike Maignan over the line.

The former was a top target for Maresca in the wide area, and Chelsea did their utmost to make it happen – lodging three different offers in the build up to Tuesday’s deadline, only for Dortmund to reject them all and demand more money (Florian Plettenberg).

Chelsea’s best performers in the Premier League last season	Average match rating
Cole Palmer	7.33
Moises Caicedo	7.02
Enzo Fernández	6.95
Nicolas Jackson	6.88
Noni Madueke	6.82
via WhoScored

Chelsea went as high as £47 million in their bid to sign Gittens, but it was no use, with the west Londoners deciding to walk away from talks once it was clear a deal could not be done in time.

Their attempts to sign Maignan were equally frustrating.

Milan wanted around £25 million to sell the France international, who’s about to enter the final year of his contract and won’t sign a new one, but Chelsea were only willing to pay up to £13 million, meaning no agreement could be found (The Athletic).

Given the 29-year-old’s pedigree as, arguably, one of the world’s finest keepers and France’s undisputed number one, there is frustration among Chelsea supporters that they didn’t stump up the cash for a player who would’ve undoubtedly been an upgrade on their current crop.

Maignan was also known to be very keen on a move to Chelsea, and for just £25m, the shot-stopper could’ve been a serious bargain.

However, their transfer plans are continuing into the summer, with reliable journalist Simon Phillips suggesting that a move for Maignan certainly isn’t off the cards.

Chelsea could hold new Mike Maignan talks next week

The Blues want to sell both Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic, with Chelsea reportedly valuing the latter at around £21 million. Sanchez joined the club for around £25 million from Brighton, and you’d Chelsea would want to recuperate a large portion of that fee.

With the £46 million duo up for sale, one source has told Phillips that Chelsea could even reopen talks for Maignan as early as next week.

“They held talks with Milan, Maignan wants the move, and Chelsea actually believed they were about to sign him with a fee agreement close,” said Phillips, via his Substack.

“AC Milan moved the goalposts on the fee in the final stages and that was enough for Chelsea to back out, for now.

“However, they are likely to go back for Maignan. I know initially we heard yesterday that they wouldn’t be going back for him at all. But after further digging by our sources last night, we’ve heard that Chelsea are now likely to revisit this deal later in the summer window. One source even suggests they could go back in for talks as soon as next week.

“Chelsea don’t want to be pushed over in negotiations so some of this is about sending messages as well as not appearing desperate to land a new goalkeeper.

“And that is because they want to sell both Djordje Petrovic and Robert Sanchez this summer. Obviously this needs suitors and those suitors to pay the valuations to make this happen, but this is their intentions.”

Called “one of the best” keepers in world football by Alisson, the Liverpool star also heralded Maignan’s “quick” burst of pace off the line, and a truly quality number one could be one of the final missing pieces of Maresca’s jigsaw.

Jude Bellingham has reportedly missed Real Madrid training as injury fears grow amid fierce La Liga title battle with Barcelona.

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• Bellingham worked inside the training facilities
• Currently awaiting a medical report
• Remains doubtful for the fixture against Celta

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to, Bellingham felt minor muscular issues on Thursday. While the club’s medical team is not overly alarmed and currently views the situation as a precautionary measure, his absence from collective training has nevertheless raised questions about his availability for Sunday’s crucial match against Celta Vigo.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior rejoined full training on Friday after nursing minor muscular issues of their own earlier in the week, Bellingham’s status remains uncertain. Madrid’s medical staff are closely monitoring the situation, and a detailed medical report is still awaited.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  In addition to fitness issues in attack and midfield, Real Madrid are also bracing for changes in their defensive lineup. Injuries and suspensions have forced Ancelotti into yet another defensive shuffle, with left-back Fran Garcia and centre-half Raul Asencio expected to start in their respective roles. On the opposite flank, Lucas Vazquez is the likely candidate to feature once again at right-back, offering stability and experience. Meanwhile, Aurelien Tchouameni, traditionally deployed in a holding midfield role, may once again be called upon to provide emergency cover in central defence.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

  Real Madrid are under no illusions about the stakes this weekend. They know that anything short of three points against Celta Vigo could severely damage their hopes of overhauling Barcelona in the final weeks of the season. Should the Catalan giants manage to secure a result against Real Valladolid, Madrid would need a victory to remain within striking distance, potentially just four points behind, with a vital El Clásico on the horizon.