Indian pacers lead the way to U-19 World Cup win against England

In the Under-19 World Cup final, it was India’s seamers, not spinners, who orchestrated England’s demise, as Raj Bawa and Ravi Kumar shared nine wickets and dismissed their opponents for 189 runs. Bawa’s 5 for 31 in the U19 World Cup final was the finest bowling performance ever, while Ravi finished with 4 for 34.

Despite winning by only four wickets, India was always in control of the chase. Shaik Rasheed was unbroken on 50, Nishant Sindhu was also unbeaten on 50, and Bawa contributed an important 35. And, as is customary for Indian wicketkeepers in World Cup finals, it was a wicketkeeper who hit the winning six.

Also Read | India beat England in U19 World Cup, love and wishes pour in for the team

Despite the fact that England took wickets that prevented India from putting up significant partnerships, the modest target of 190 put little pressure for them. England only got to 189 thanks to James Rew’s heroic 95, which saved them from being reduced to 91 for 7 after Tom Prest elected to bat at the toss.

England’s problems began early in the morning, when Ravi discovered some movement, aided in part by some overnight rain in Antigua. In the second over, he had Jacob Bethell leg before wicket with a full ball and then had Prest chopping an attempted pull onto his stumps.

Also Read | U-19 World Cup: India’s performance in seven finals

Even though Ravi was among the wickets early, George Thomas, who made a half-century in the semi-final, attacked right-arm seamer Rajvardhan Hangargekar from the opposite end. When Bawa came on at first change, he smacked Hangargekar for a 16-run over, but he fell for 27 off 30. Thomas attempted to mow one across the line after Bawa pitched the ball up, but he miscued a skyer to cover.

Rew and William Luxton were given the responsibility of resuming England’s innings, but they only lasted 16 balls together before Bawa struck twice in a row. Luxton continued pursuing after Bawa found some additional bounce on a wide-ish delivery, only to edge it to wicketkeeper Dinesh Bana. George Bell was gone for a duck.

Bawa greeted George Bell with a short ball for his first delivery, and all he could do was glove it to Bana, who was trying to block off the back foot. Following the wickets of Rehan Ahmed, who was caught at slip off Bawa, and Alex Horton, who dragged offspinner Kaushal Tambe to midwicket, England were shortly 91 for 7.

Also Read | Force of a billion: Sachin, Kohli’s message to U19 Indian team ahead of final

With England on the verge of being bowled out for less than 120 runs, it was up to Rew, the last known batter, to add some runs. To form a stand, he teamed up with No. 9 James Sales, and the two combined for 93 runs. Rew was the attacking half of the partnership, upping his tempo as England got closer to 200 points. Rew favoured pulling off the back foot or going over midwicket, so even Vicky Ostwal, the frugal left-arm spinner, went for 5.16 per over. In fact, once England passed 180, it appeared that the game was on, with India likely needing to chase a target in the 225-240 region.

But that’s when everything started to go wrong again. On 95, Rew pushed a harmless Ravi delivery to a fumbling-tumbling-juggling Tambe at deep midwicket, and three balls later, Thomas Aspinwall became Ravi’s fourth scalp. On the other hand, Bawa teamed up with Bana once more to record his five-wicket haul, and England were bowled out for 189 in 44.5 overs after failing to bat 31 vital deliveries.

When the in-form Angkrish Raghuvanshi was caught behind for a duck, the dependable left-arm swing bowler Josh Boyden lifted England early in the chase, but despite piling the dot balls, neither Boyden nor the other seamers could make any further breakthroughs. It was a waiting game for England as they waited for the error, with Harnoor Singh and Rasheed content to bid their time. With the score at 49 for 1, Harnoor gloved a short ball from Aspinwall to the wicketkeeper in the 18th over.

Also Read | U-19 World Cup: Yash Dhull joins Virat Kohli in elite list of Indian skippers

This brought skipper Yash Dhull and his vice-captain Rasheed together. In the semi-final, they had put together a double-century stand and were looking to attack England’s spinners. Rasheed stood tall to crunch cuts or drives through the off side, flicking off his pads with his wrists.

Rasheed reached fifty in the 27th over, but was caught on the leg side following a wild heave from Sales. As India lost their fourth wicket with the score at 97, the same bowler dismissed Dhull for 17 to give England a ray of hope.

Sindhu and Bawa, on the other hand, launched a counter-offensive. Sindhu also went over cover or midwicket, while Bawa blasted two sixes and one four. Before India could cross the line, two catches inside the ring sent Bawa and Tambe packing, but there were still enough runs for Sindhu to achieve his half-century.

Bana wasted little time in finishing the competition as he reached fifty in 54 balls. The first six players all went deep square leg. The second one took a long time to land, and even before it did, the camera shifted to the India players celebrating.

For his all-around effort in the final, Bawa was voted Player of the Match. Dewald Brevis of South Africa won the Player of the Performance award for his 506-run tournament. Dhull joined the list of Indian captains who have won the competition, which includes Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand, and Prithvi Shaw.