USA will make a third consecutive appearance at the next Under-19 women's T20 World Cup after they won the Americas qualifier in Cayman Islands over the weekend. USA, led by Chetna Pagydyala, won the tournament after going unbeaten through six games.
USA finished six points clear of the next best team in the tournament - Canada - who they had also beaten in their tournament opener by eight wickets. USA beat Canada again to finish the tournament and also collected two wins each against Argentina and Next GenXI, a composite side made up of players from across the Americas region.
Mahek Desai finished as the Player of the Tournament with a tally of 16 wickets.
USA had made it to the Super Six stage of the 2025 edition in Malaysia, where India lifted the trophy. India, in fact, have won both editions of the tournament so far. This time, USA join Samoa (East Asia-Pacific) and UAE (Asia) for the 2027 edition through regional qualification, with the Africa and Europe qualifiers to be held later in the year.
Pagydyala, a left-hand batter, had also played the 2025 edition and also has the experience of 31 T20Is and three ODIs after making her international debut in September 2023. She had scored a hundred on ODI debut, against Zimbabwe in October 2024. Earlier this year, she had also played the T20 World Cup qualifier in Nepal, although USA couldn't make it for the main tournament.