Cayman Islands, August 17: The USA has successfully qualified for the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup for the third consecutive time, following a remarkable victory at the Americas Qualifier 2026 held in the Cayman Islands.
Under the leadership of senior international player and member of the Under-19 T20 World Cup 2025 team, Chetna Pagidala, the USA team showcased an impressive performance by winning all six of their matches. The team finished in second place, earning six points more than Canada. The Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2027 is set to be co-hosted by Bangladesh and Nepal, with India entering as the defending champion after winning the previous two editions.
The USA solidified its position on the first day by defeating Canada by eight wickets at Jimmy Powell Oval in West Bay. With disciplined bowling, the USA restricted Canada to a mere 65 runs. Mahak Desai and Sanvi Immadi each took three wickets, leading to a swift chase where the USA achieved the target in just 11 overs.
Throughout the tournament, the USA maintained dominance, completing a clean sweep against Canada and securing victories over Argentina and the NextGen Eleven, a regional mixed team. All-rounder Mahak Desai emerged as the standout player of the tournament, taking the most wickets with a total of 16 and earning the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.
With this regional victory, the USA now joins Samoa (East Asia-Pacific) and the United Arab Emirates (Asia) as qualifiers for the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2027. African and European qualifiers are scheduled to take place later this year.
Chetna Pagidala’s team aims to build on their impressive performance from 2025, where they reached the Super Six stage and posed a strong challenge to New Zealand. Despite restricting New Zealand to just 97 runs, the USA faced a narrow defeat by 18 runs.