Antigua: Dominant India won a record-extending fifth U-19 World Cup title beating England by four wickets in the final of an extraordinary campaign.
Bold and brave in their approach, the star-eyed Indian players success stories gave a glimpse into the world’s most perfectly calibrated youth structure. The team is capable of consistently producing world-class cricketers who are ready to take on bigger challenges. In a deliberation of India’s dominance, wicket-keeper Dinesh Bana finished the chase of 190 with two sixes and 14 balls to spare. The triumph resemblances the exploits of world-class Indian U-19 teams of the past.
India are the 2022 ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup champions 🏆
They beat England by four wickets in the #U19CWC final 👏#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/e4uhN2Pbqb
— ICC (@ICC) February 5, 2022
Winning the toss in the final, England captain Tom Prest rightly chose to bat first, in order to avoid the “scoreboard pressure” with the chase. However, India did the next thing: bowl out the opposition for a total of 189, in 44.5 overs. England failed to put India under pressure. India were all over England, nevertheless a gritty 95 by James Rew saved England from the blushes.
India kept taking wickets at regular intervals, with dropping the intensity of the team. Bowling his medium pacers in deadly effect, Raj Bawa (5/31) ran through the English middle-order. In-from left-arm seamer Ravi Kumar (4/34) also laid the opposition in low with two early blows. For about 19 overs, Rew and James Sales (34 not out) flout India with a 93-run eight-wicket partnership. That ensured the 1998 edition winners recover from a horror 61 for six and then 91 for seven.
In the second innings, India lost Angkrish Raghuvanshi without a run on the board. Nevertheless, the extremely talented Shaik Rasheed shined with a composed 50 coming out of 84 deliveries. Skipper Yash Dhull fell for 17, but the duo of Nishant Sindhu (50 not out) and Bawa (35) took the team with a striking distance of victory. A 67-run partnership for the fifth wicket did it well for the Men in Blue.
The ICC 2022 U19 cricket World Cup has been an extremely challenging ride for the Indian team. Multiple players from the side were infected by the coronavirus. A situation arose where they even struggled to field eleven fit personnel on the pitch. Despite the huge setback, tracking back from almost derailed campaign, India came back stronger.
