The Indian U-19 team bags the world cup against England in West Indies
The under 19 Indian team won the ICC World Cup 2022 final against England by four wickets at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, West Indies, on Saturday, February 5. Despite getting affected by Covid during the tournament, the Indian team managed to fight all odds and enter the finals. This latest win is the fifth time India has won the World Cup U-19 title.
The journey to the finals
In the first match against South Africa, India won by 45 runs, aided by Yash Dhull’s exceptional 82 runs. The second match against Ireland was wrapped up by a considerable run gap of 174 runs by Harnoor Singh and Angrish Raghuvanshi’s half-centuries.
India won the third match against Uganda by scoring 405 runs, with the latter balled over in just 79 runs. The game marked an extraordinary performance by Raj Bawa, who played a record-breaking inning of 162 runs. He broke Shikhar Dhawan’s record for the highest individual score by an Indian batter in the U-19 World Cup.
India entered the semifinals by defeating Bangladesh by chasing 111 runs in just 30.5 overs. In the semifinals against Australia, India won by 96 runs, with Dhull scoring a 110 run. He became the third Indian captain to score a century in the tournament’s history after Virat Kohli (2008) and Unmukt Chand (2012).
And on Saturday, February 5, India beat England in the ICC World Cup finals and gained a record-extending fifth title.
The playing eleven
Yash Dhull (Captain), Dinesh Bana (Wicket Keeper), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harnoor Singh, Shaik Rasheed, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Nishant Sindhu, Raj Bawa, Kaushal Tambe, Vicky Ostwal, Ravi Kumar, Manav Parakh, Siddarth Yadav, Aneeshwar Gautam, and Garv Sangwan
The previous wins by India in the U-19 World Cup
- 2000 U-19 World Cup won by India against Sri Lanka led by Mohammad Kaif.
- In the 2008 U-19 World Cup, India won the title under the captaincy of Virat Kohli against South Africa.
- In the 2012 U-19 World Cup, India defeated arch-rivals Australia in New Zealand, captained by Unmukt Chand.
- In the 2018 U-19 World Cup, India gained a fourth title after beating Australia under the leadership of Prithvi Shaw. Rahul Dravid was the coach at that time.
Performance by the Indian players
England was looking forward to a win, with its 24 years dry spell in the finals. But with the outstanding performance of the Indian team so far, with a win in all the previous matches, and India’s fourth final in a row, the final match was an interesting one.
Just before the finals, the team was also briefed by Virat Kohli, who is ideal for many of the junior team members. England was at the pitch in the first inning in the final match.
England lost a lot of wickets at the beginning of the game by Raj Bawa’s exceptional fiver (5/31). James Rew scored 95 runs, which restored hope in the England players of winning the second title after the 1998 win.
India had to chase 190 runs. Despite losing Angkrish Raghuvanshi early on, Shaik Rasheed and Nishant Sindhu scored over 50 runs each, followed by an exceptional performance by Dinesh Bana, who hit back-to-back sixes.
The winning shot from the keeper-batter was a deja vu of MS Dhoni’s winning shot in the 2011 World Cup. On February 6, Sunday, BCCI announced a cash reward of Rs 40 lakh each for the team members and Rs 25 lakh each for the support staff.
A proud moment
In his tweet on Sunday, PM Narendra Modi applauded the team for their “stellar performance” and said that “the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands.” The victory is a proud moment for India, home to a majority of cricket enthusiasts. Words of praise and felicitations are pouring in for the team from all over the nation.
Extremely proud of our young cricketers. Congratulations to the Indian team for winning the ICC U19 World Cup. They have shown great fortitude through the tournament. Their stellar performance at the highest level shows that the future of Indian cricket is in safe and able hands.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2022
Published By – Vanshu Mehra
