U-19 WC final: India beat England to lift record 5th crown

INDIA'S youngsters on Saturday (5) registered a record fifth Under-19 World Cup title victory by defeating England by four wickets in the summit clash at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda.

India had won their first U-19 World Cup title in 2000 and went on to win in 2008, 2012 and 2018 before Saturday.

In what turned out to be an engaging contest, Yashu Dhull’s side restricted the Three Lions to 189 but faced hiccups with the bat during the chase. They were reduced to 97 for 4 at one stage with in-form Dhull departing on 17 but Raj Bawa, who picked up a five-for earlier, scored 35 vital runs along with Nishant Sindhu (50 not out) to guide their side home with four wickets and little over two overs in hand.

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England pacers Joshua Boyden, James Sales and Thomas Aspinwall took two wickets each.

Earlier in the day, England U-19 captain Tom Prest won the toss and elected to bat but despite James Rew’s gutsy 95 off 116 balls, his side could not reach the 200-run mark. Left-arm opening seamer Ravi Kumar scalped four wickets besides Bawa’s fifer while spinner Kaushal Tambe took one.

India have made the final of U-19 World Cup eight times so far, including four consecutive ones since 2016. In 2020, they lost to Bangladesh in the final but avenged the loss this time in the quarter-final.

Australia finished third after beating Afghanistan by two wickets in a closely-fought game on Friday (4).

Brief Scores: England 189 all out in 45 overs (James Rew 95, James Sales 34 not out; Raj Bawa 5-31); India 195/6 in 47.4 overs (Shaik Rasheed 50, Nishant Sindhu 50 not out; Joshua Boyden 2-24).