India are looking to seal a record-extending 5th ICC U19 World Cup title when they take on England in the final of the 2022 edition at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua on Saturday, February 5.
In 14 editions of the tournament, India have made 8 finals and won the trophy 4 times in an envious record that shows the strength of the assembly line of young cricketers in the country. On the other hand, England, who won the title for the only time in their history back in 1998, have displayed steely confidence throughout their campaign in the West Indies.
The India U19 players interacted with Virat Kohli, former India captain and the winner of the U19 World Cup in 2008, on Thursday, receiving some “valuable tips” ahead of the big final.
India won the title in 2000 under Mohammad Kaif’s captaincy. They won their 2nd title in 2008 under Kohli while Unmukt Chand led the team to glory in 2012. India last won the title in 2018 under Prithvi Shaw’s captaincy. In 2020, India reached the final only to lose to Bangladesh.
ALL EYES ON YASH DHULL, SHAIKH RASHEED
India were hampered by Covid-19 cases in their camp as skipper Yash Dhull and vice-captain Shaikh Rasheed missed 2 of the 3 league matches. But the 4-time champions have steamrolled oppositions despite the setbacks to make it to their 4th successive final in the premier age-group tournament.
Both the captain and the vice-captain lived up to the hype around them when they came up with a crucial stand in their big win over Australia in the semi-final. India were in some trouble after losing early wickets but Yash and Rasheed stitched 204-run stand for the 3rd wicket with the captain hitting a 110 and the vice-captain missing out on a 3-figure score by just 6 runs.
It was incredible to see the maturity with which Yash and Rasheed handled the crisis situation after openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Harnoor Singh departed early.
Captain Yash Dhull hit a match-winning hundred in the semi-final against Australia (Courtesy of BCCI)
While the batters have put up individual performances, the bowling department has fired in unison.
The extra pace of Rajvardhan Hangargekar and swing of left-arm fast bowler Ravi Kumar has rattled the top order batters while the Vicky Ostwal-led spin attack has stifled the opposition in the middle overs. He is India’s leading wicket-taker with 12 scalps at 10.75.
DETERMINED ENGLAND LOOK TO END TITLE DROUGHT
After a tense finish in the semifinal against Afghanistan, England will be more than keen to end their title drought of the last 24 years.
Like India, England too remain unbeaten in the tournament. Captain Tom Prest has led from the front with 292 runs at an average of 73 while left-arm pacer Joshua Boyden has taken 13 wickets at a stellar average of 9.53.
India batters will also need to be wary of wrist-spinner Rehan Ahmed who is tasked with providing breakthroughs in the middle overs.
INDIA VS ENGLAND, U19 World Cup Final – Squads
India: Yash Dhull (captain), Harnoor Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Siddarth Yadav, Aneeshwar Gautam, Manav Parakh, Kaushal Tambe, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Vicky Ostwal, Garv Sangwan, Dinesh Bana, Aaradhya Yadav, Raj Bawa, Vasu Vats, Ravi Kumar.
England: Tom Prest (captain), George Bell, Joshua Boyden, Alex Horton, Rehan Ahmed, James Sales, George Thomas, Thomas Aspinwall, Nathan Barnwell, Jacob Bethell , James Coles, William Luxton, James Rew, Fateh Singh, Benjamin Cliff.
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