Benoni (South Africa), Jan 15 (IANS): Stunning performances from opening batters Shafali Verma (45) and Shweta Sehrawat (92 not out) led India to a clinical seven-wicket win over hosts South Africa on the opening day of the ICC U19 Womens T20 World Cup, here on Saturday.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, a stunning flurry of early runs saw South Africa get off to a lightning-quick start, with openers Simone Lourens and Elandri Janse Van Rensburg doing the damage.

The score was 56/1 after just four overs when Janse Van Rensburg fell for 23 off 13, and the pace of scoring slowed slightly as the innings went on. Lourens top-scored with 61 from 44, before some late hitting lifted the Proteas up to an impressive 166/5.

India's reply got off to the perfect start, with star player Shafali Verma putting the host nation to the sword early on. Verma struck 45 from just 16 deliveries, including one over where all six balls went to the boundary, before being caught off Miane Smit.

But Verma's fellow opener Shweta Sehrawat kept the momentum going, finishing unbeaten on a brilliant 92 not out from 57 as India chased down their target with still 21 balls remaining.

Brief scores: South Africa Women U19 166-5 in 20 Overs (Simone Lourens 61 not out, Madison Landsman 32; Shafali Verma 2/31) lost to India Women U19 170-3 in 16.3 Overs (Shweta Sehrawat 92 not out, Shafali Verma 45; Miane Smit 1/15) by 7 wickets.