India lifted a record fifth U19 World Cup title after defeating England in the summit clash here at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
The Yash Dhull led side defeated the Three Lions in the summit clash by four wickets. Chasing 190, India got off to the worst start possible as Joshua Boyden dismissed Angkrish Raghuvanshi (0) on the third ball of the innings.
Harnoor Singh and Shaik Rasheed then got together at the crease and the duo put on 49 runs for the second wicket. As soon as India started to gain an upper hand, England stormed right back into the contest in the 18th over as Thomas Aspinwall dismissed Harnoor (21), reducing India to 49/2.
Skipper Yash Dhull next joined Rasheed in the middle and both batters stitched together a partnership of 46 runs which saw Rasheed (50) going past his 50-run mark. However, as soon as he reached the milestone, he ended up giving his wicket away to James Sales. In his next over, Sales picked up the scalp of Dhull (17), and India was reduced to 97/4, still needing 93 runs for the win.
Raj Bawa (35) and Nishant Sindhu (50*) then ensured that India does not lose wickets in a cluster. In the end, India registered a four-wicket win to lift the U19 World Cup for the fifth time.
Earlier, Raj Bawa scalped five wickets while Ravi Kumar took four as India bowled out England for 189 inside 45 overs. England crumbled in the first half of the innings before James Rew’s gutsy 95-run knock helped the Three Lions reach a score of more than the 180-run mark.
Opting to bat first, England got off to the worst possible start as left-arm pacer Ravi Kumar picked two wickets (Jacob Bethell and Tom Prest) in the first four overs. George Thomas and James Rew tried to get the partnership going but Raj Bawa dismissed the opener as India took control over the game.
England kept losing wickets at regular intervals and was soon found reeling at 61-6 in the 17th over. Meanwhile, James Rew kept fighting hard and scored a fifty to rescue his side from the precarious position. Rew and James Sales put up a fifty-run stand to revive England’s innings.
India Under19 World Cup Champion; Image Source: @ICC 
India Under19 World Cup Champion; Image Source: @ICC 
India Under19 World Cup Champion; Image Source: @ICC India Under19 World Cup Champion; Image Source: @ICC India Under19 World Cup Champion; Image Source: @ICC 
India Under19 World Cup Champion; Image Source: @ICC 
India Under19 World Cup Champion; Image Source: @ICC
However, Rew fell five runs short of a century as Ravi Kumar removed him in the 44th over.
Rew’s wicket triggered a collapse and England lost the final two wickets to set a 190-run target for India in the final.
Earlier, India had won the U19 World Cup in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2018.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly on Sunday congratulated the Yash Dhull-led side for winning the U19 World Cup.
“Congratulations to the under 19 team and the support staff and the selectors for winning the world cup in such a magnificent way. The cash prize announced by us of 40 lakhs is a small token of appreciation but their efforts are beyond value .. magnificent stuff..@bcci,” tweeted Ganguly.
Earlier, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced an INR 40 lakh reward for every player of the U19 World Cup-winning team. He also said that every member of the support staff will be getting INR 25 lakh.
“I am pleased to announce the reward of 40 lacs per player and 25 lacs per support staff for the U19 #TeamIndia contingent for their exemplary performance in the #U19CWC final. You have made India proud,” tweeted Shah.
Brief Scores: England 189 all out (James Rew 95, James Sales 34*; Raj Bawa 5-31); India 195/6 (Shaik Rasheed 50, Nishant Sindhu 50*; Joshua Boyden 2-24).
