U19 World Cup final as it happened: Raj Bawa, Nishant Sindhu star as India clinch fifth title

02.15 am: That will be all for this blog. Thanks for joining us.

India clinched the U-19 Cricket World Cup title for the fifth time after beating England by four wickets in the summit clash, riding on a sensational all-round show from Chandigarh boy Raj Angad Bawa in Antigua on Saturday.

Bawa shone with the ball with a sensational fiver (5/31) to help India shot England out for 189 before hitting a valuable 35 down the order to help India chase down the target of 190 with 2.2 overs to spare.

It was a remarkable achievement for India, who had won the title in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, as they found themselves into a situation where they were struggling to field a playing XI after multiple players contracted COVID-19 hours before their match against Ireland. Five members of the squad, including captain Yash Dhull and his deputy Shaik Rasheed, missed both the Ireland and Uganda fixtures.

(via PTI)

Player of the match: Raj Bawa

Player of the tournament: ‘Baby AB’ Dewald Brevis

VVS Laxman makes an interesting point... the selectors are to complemented for putting this team together in times where there have been very little cricket played.

INDIA ARE U19 CHAMPIONS! And soon after, Indian wicket-keeper Dinesh Bana hits a six over long on to finish off a World Cup final in style. In fact, two sixes on the trot! What a way to seal the title.

HALF CENTURY FOR NISHANT SINDHU: The stand-in captain during this tournament has stepped up in the big match! His batting hadn’t quite clicked as well as his bowling but what a time to score a half century. A gift from Sales at the start of the over for four.

India 178/6 in 47 overs: 12 needed off 18 balls... Nishant Sindhu holds the key.

WICKET! Over 46.2: Kaushal Tambe 1(9) ct Rehan Ahmed b Thomas Aspinwall Now Kaushal Tambe falls. Cut powerfully but sharply taken at point by Rehan. India, who do bat deep, are taking their time with this run-chase and that is giving England hope... India U19 176/6

India 176/5 in 46 overs: Taking it deep... but not much sweat, yet at least. Kaushal Tambe is in the middle with Nishant Sindhu.

WICKET! Over 42.6: Rajangad Bawa 35(54) ct Tom Prest b Joshua Boyden A fine all-round effort from Raj Bawa comes to an end. Following his five-for, he is out for 35. A glimmer of hope for England as India lose their 5th for 164. The front-foot pull has been played quite well by him but he mishits this one. India U19 164/5

India 160/4 in 42 overs: That outside edge went for four. And then England have a slip after that. Poor tactics.

Another moment where England should have had a slip. Edge... no takers, not for the first time.

India 155/4 in 41 overs: Lovely hit to begin the final phase of this innings. Good over for India, the win seems imminent.

39.6: Nishant Sindhu SIX

 40.1: Raj Bawa  SIX

India 146/4 in 40 overs: Just to show who is in control of this match going into the final 10 overs perhaps... a six down the ground by Nishant Sindhu off Rehan Ahmed. Lovely hit, on his knees, swept with power.

India 138/4 in 39 overs: Once again worth mentioning the umpiring, minus DRS, has been top notch pretty much all tournament. Couple of big England appeals in the last couple overs, rightly turned down. India need 52 off 66 balls.

India 135/4 in 38 overs: Tom Prest finishes with 0/29 in his 10 overs.

Drinks break: India 133/4 in 37 overs. Need 57 more runs from 13 overs. Still very much in control, but if England get a couple of wickets here....

India 129/4 after 36 overs: The required rate is something India must keep an eye on from here on... won’t be easy for new batters. A four from Nishant Sindhu at the end of that over.

India 123/4 after 35 overs: Raj Bawa, the five-wicket haul today and four-wicket haul earlier against South Africa notwithstanding, actually enjoys his batting more. Shows why with a gorgeous straight drive for four. Just sheer timing!

India 117/4 after 34 overs: England are missing a trick by not attacking more? Should definitely be having a slip at this point. Outside edge from Nishant, no takers.

India 109/4 after 32 overs: Oh a tight single there off Prest’s over. India don’t need a runout now...

India 108/4 after 31 overs: Sindhu with a four off Sales, just to calm any nerves in the Indian camp.

Semifinal: Yash Dhull fell, immediately Shaik Rasheed followed. 204-run stand.

 Final: Shaik Rasheed fell, immediately Yash Dhull followed. 46-run stand 

India 98/4 after 29 overs: Raj Bawa and Nishant Sindhu in the middle, two LHBS... India do bat deep but every further wicket now will make England confident they can turn this around.

WICKET! Over 28.2: Yash Dhull 17(32) ct George Bell b James Sales Oho what do we have here! The captain is back in the pavilion too! India have lost two huge wickets in quick successions. Short ball, was there to be pulled but Dhull finds the fielder in the deep. India U19 97/4

WICKET! Over 26.6: Shaik Rasheed 50(84) ct James Rew b James Sales: ...and Rasheed falls after recaching the half century. Went for a big shot, no timing. James Rew and James Sales combine, again. India U19 95/3

Half century in semifinal... now half century in final Shaik Rasheed looks like a wonderful batter in the making.

India 89/2 after 25 overs: Rasheed right now on 47 off 80 balls... the only moment he has looked shaky is running between the wickets, really. Nearly got run out a few overs back but otherwise has kept things in control.

India 83/2 after 24 overs: Definite gear change from India... from Rasheed, that too. Lovely drive for four off Prest.

India 70/2 after 22 overs: Every time I have seen Yash Dhull bat in this tournament, he has looked in control from the first ball he faces. Like he is used to the pitches from the instant he walks out to the middle. A four down the ground for him off Aspinwall and then Rasheed cuts one past point. India shifting gears perhaps.

India 57/2 after 20 overs: Back together after 200-plus partnership against Australia in the semifinal... can Shaik Rasheed and Yash Dhull take India home? A brilliant cut by Rasheed for four in that over.

India 52/2 after 19 overs: Economy rate of 3.97 For Bethell in this tournament. He offers a lot of control with his left-arm spin. He starts with a tidy 3-run over. Yash Dhull, meanwhile, has the reputation of being a master chaser in Delhi cricket circles. This is a great situation for the India captain and vice captain to see the side through.

WICKET! Over 17.3: Harnoor Singh Pannu 21(46) ct Alex Horton b Thomas Aspinwall. What a catch. Aspinwall with a cross-seam delivery that rises awkwardly, much like Bawa’s delivery to Bell. Terrific catch by the keeper. Yash Dhull in the middle. India U19 49/2

India 48/1 after 17 overs: A welcome boundary for Rasheed, as he sweeps one fine for four off Rehan. He was just getting bogged down in this phase. Time for drinks. India looking comfortable on a pitch that doesn’t have too many demons.

India 40/1 after 15 overs: A maiden over Rehan now. England have not made run-scoring easy but Harnoor and Rasheed have looked in control for most of this innings so far.

India 40/1 after 14 overs: 4-1-5-0 is Tom Prest’s figures at the moment. The captain keeping things tight.

India 35/1 after 12 overs: Spin from both ends with Prest and Rehan, England keeping things tight too.

India 33/1 after 10 overs: Good recovery from India after having lost the first wicket in the first over. Harnoor and Rasheed are looking in control at the moment. Scoring rate is not an issue at the moment. Time for Rehan.

India 32/1 after 9 overs: Oh uppish from Harnoor but it clears the dive of the fielder at mid on. Four!

India 24/1 after 8 overs: Prest starts off with a maiden over.

India 24/1 after 7 overs: Not taking any chances against the pacers unless it is there to be put away. Harnoor and Rasheed have steadied things after that early wicket. Time for spin from Prest.

India 18/1 after 5 overs: A lovely flick and four for Rasheed.

India 13/1 after 4 overs: A hat-trick!!! Of wides. Sales trying a bit too hard to beat Rasheed for pace and bounce on the leg side. And then the Indian VC plays a delightful punch off the back foot for four, first of India’s innings.

India 5/1 after 3 overs: Cautious against Boyden, both Harnoor and Rasheed.

India 4/1 after 2 overs: Harnoor has somewhat of an underwhelming World Cup and he’d love to put it right in the final. HE has been joined by Rasheed, vice captain in the middle.

India 0/1 after 1 over: A maiden-wicket to start with. Just what England wanted.

WICKET! Over 0.2: Angkrish Raghuvanshi 0(2) ct Alex Horton b Joshua Boyden Angkrish, who has had a good tournament overall, falls in the first over in the final! Left-arm pacer Boyden strikes.With the angle, outside edge taken. India U19 0/1

Angkrish and Harnoor in the middle. England need early wickets. Here we go

Here is an ICC snippet on Raj Bawa. Coached by his father, who also trained Yuvraj Singh. Raj said he imitated Yuvraj’s batting a lot while growing up...

England 189 all out Standout performances from that first innings:

• A superb 95 for James Rew to steady England.
• Four wickets for Ravi Kumar, broke England’s top order with a superb spell and then a crucial broke partnership later.
• And five wickets for Raj Bawa, who had a dream first spell and then came back to finish things off.
  

WICKET! Over 44.5: Joshua Boyden 1(5) ct Dinesh Bana b Rajangad Bawa That’s a five-for! In the final of a World Cup. Raj Bawa bowled a sensational first spell and now in his final over, he ends England’s innings on 189. Bawa finishes with 5/31. England U19 189/10

WICKET! Over 43.4: Thomas Aspinwall 0 (2) ct Dinesh Bana b Ravi Kumar, Two in an over once again for India. Like a London bus and all that. That moved late from around the wicket, Aspinwall edges one to the keeper. England U19 185/9

WICKET! Over 43.1: James Rew 95(116) ct Kaushal Tambe b Ravi Kumar Kaushal Tamble with a piece of sensational recovery to complete a catch at deep square leg. Pull shot, goes to the fielder at chest height, he juggles, dives forward. Ravi Kumar breaks the partnership. James Rew... what a knock. Out for 95. England U19 184/8

England 184/7 after 43 overs: Feels like the first real phase of control India have had in a while. Hangargekar decides to go around the wicket to Sales and beats the right hander repeatedly with the angle. A maiden over. That was a nice battle. Nearly a runout last ball.

England 184/7 after 42 overs: Bana was convinced that he pulled off a quickfire stumping but Sales got his foot back in. Rew then scores a couple of boundaries to move on to 95.

Ostwal has bowled only 5 overs into the death overs.

England 173/7 after 41 overs: Rather easily done six-run over off Hangargekar. A half chance at the end of the over for a runout but the direct hit didn’t happen.

England 167/7 after 40 overs: WE are into the final 10 overs. Can England get past 220?

England 164/7 after 39 overs: England are able to keep the scoreboard ticking across all bowlers. The dot balls haven’t been happening for India. Smart partnership, really.

England 159/7 after 38 overs: We have barely spoken about Sales in this partnership but he has played his role to perfection. 68-run partnership at this point and he has hung around to play the perfect foil. On 22 now.

Raj Bawa back... India getting a bit more desperate.

England 153/7 after 36 overs: Ravi Kumar in... short ball, lovely pull shot for four. The boundaries keep coming from Rew55.

England 145/7 after 35 overs: Another boundary for Rew... lovely lofted off drive. He is into the 70s.

England 139/7 after 34 overs: Another boundary for Rew in that Tambe over. Superb partnership this for England, one fan in the crowd is really pumped up.

England 131/7 after 33 overs: Tambe and Angkrish bowling in tandem now (should be a short spell for the latter anyway).

Some part-time offies from Angkrish now. He has broken some partnerships before in this tournament.

England 129/7 after 32 overs: Another boundary for Rew... Ostwal drops short. Put away. What an innings.

Ostwal returns. England 1-2-3 at the moment. After 31 overs.

Over 30.2: Brief break in play after Hangargekar hits Rew on the helmet.

England 118/7 after 30 overs: Another good partnership this for England... Rew and Sales adding some more crucial runs.

Half century for James Rew! The England team’s No 55 is playing a lovely innings here, to add some crucial runs. His highest score of the tournament so far...

England 113/7 after 29 overs: Hangargekar comes on... hasn’t had the best of days so far. Can he help India finish this innings soon? England play out a solid over, six runs off it.

England 107/7 after 28 overs: Rew with another boundary... gem of an innings this. On to 47.

England 101/7 after 27 overs: 100 comes up for England with a superb reverse sweep for four by Rew55.

England 96/7 after 25 overs: If this is indeed the halfway mark of England’s innings, they’d have done well from here.

WICKET! Over 24.3: Alex Horton 10 (21) ct Yash Dhull b Kaushal Tambe oops. That’s a jinx, if ever there was one. Yash Dhull takes a sharp catch at mid-wicket as Horton falls. Went for a big slog over the leg side but no elevation. Tambe with a wicket. England U19 91/7

England 90/6 after 24 overs: A good little spell for England here. They recovered from collapse against Afghanistan as well and now Rew & Horton are looking to do that.

England 87/6 after 23 overs: By some distance England’s best spell with the bat since Thomas got out. Horton scores a four off Tambe.

England 82/6 after 22 overs: Horton and Rew (No 55 and a lot of Stokes about him) are keeping the scoreboard ticking. This is Rew’s highest score of the tournament. Good time to get that.

England 70/6 after 20 overs: Time for a break for Bawa. Tambe and Ostwal bowling in tandem now. The offspinner now on for his first over.

England 67/6 after 19 overs: Horton too played a good hand against Afghanistan and he plays one of the shots of the morning with a cover drive off Bawa for four. England need a partnership here desperately.

England are six down before Vicky Ostwal’s first over.

England 61/6 after 17 overs: Raj Bawa has just bowled a phenomenal spell here. Of course worth waiting to see how Indian batters fare, but at this stage, doesn’t quite feel like the pitch is all that difficult. Just solid bowling. It was a wobble ball delivery that got Rehan, and the snorter for Bell was a cross-seam ball.

WICKET! Over 16.2: Rehan Ahmed 10(12) ct Kaushal Tambe b Rajangad Bawa Raj Bawa is on fire. Fourth wicket for the medium pacer and Rehan Ahmed is gone. Caught at slip, as he edges a length ball. The batter left the bat hanging there. England are reeling and then some. England U19 61/6

England 52/5 after 14.5 overs: DRINKS! Rehan gets hit on the helmet by another Bawa bouncer... he is deceptively quick with his action it would seem. Rehan seems alright but needs to be checked by the physio, time for a drinks break in the mean time.

Rew plays out the hat-trick ball safely.

England 48/5 after 14 overs: Dhull senses a collapse here, brings back Ravi from the other end. A big appeal in that over too.... not given.

WICKET! over 12.6: George Bell 0(1) ct Dinesh Bana b Rajangad Bawa Two in two balls and it is a brilliant bouncer to George Bell first up. Bell was fantastic in the semifinal, gone for a first-ball duck today. Bawa will be on a hat-trick start of next over. What a bouncer. England U19 47/5

WICKET! Over 12.5: William Luxton 4(8) ct Dinesh Bana b Rajangad Bawa India are on a roll! Raj Bawa has his second in quick time. Luxton goes for a cut shot, but it was too close to him, keeper Bana makes no mistake. England U19 47/4

England 44/3 after 12 overs: No let up of pressure from India, keeping things tight.

Yash Dhull said before the match: “...they don’t let go of the attacking mode even if they lose 2-3 wickets. So we’ll try to stick to our plans and bowl as many dot balls as possible.” Executed to perfection for that Thomas wicket.

WICKET! Over 10.1: George Thomas 27(30) ct Yash Dhull b Rajangad Bawa The dropped catch doesn’t prove too costly. Raj Bawa gets his man soon after... the dangerous George Thomas is gone! Dot balls built up the pressure, mishit big shot came, Dhull takes the catch. England U19 37/3

England 37/3 after 10 overs: Another tight over by Nishant... pressure building on England.

Dot balls... just like Dhull had wanted.

England 36/2 after 9 overs: A maiden over from Raj Bawa to Rew. Solid lines and lengths from over the wicket, operating on that annoying channel with a good angle.

England 36/2 after 8 overs: Spin introduced nice and early, with Nishant Sindhu coming on to bowl his left-arm finger spin. Starts with a full ball to Rew which is put away for four.

England 31/2 after 7 overs: DROPPED! Oh, that could be very costly for India. George Thomas has looked in fantastic touch but he edges one off Raj Bawa and Kaushal Tambe puts down a rather simple chance at slip. Thomas has been getting his fair share of chances in the last couple of chances, he made Afghanistan pay with a half century.

Raj Bawa, first-change. Has been bowling a few expensive overs here and there especially at the start of the spells but picks up wickets too.

England 30/2 after 6 overs: Dhull said yesterday that he is aware of England’s attacking nature even if they lose a wicket or two... will be interesting to see both sides’ reactions to this start. England have lost two major batters.... and Thomas continues to play positively. Two boundaries in the Ravi over, one a bowler error to stray on the leg side. The next a superb cover drive.

England 21/2 after 5 overs: Thomas still looking to take on Hangargekar but this time the pull shot is not well time and there is a fielder in the deep too... falls short.

WICKET! Over 3.3: Tom Prest 0(4) b Ravi Kumar What a start for the left-arm pacer and India. He has removed England’s top scorer Tom Preset for a duck... short ball, but not short enough to pull, dragged on. England U19 18/2

England 18/1 after 3 overs: Well, that’s how you respond. Yash Dhull mentioned yesterday how he knew England will not stop attacking even if they lose a wicket or two and Thomas shows just why. Two fours and a brilliant pull for six over square leg! Hangargekar not troubling England yet with his pace.

England 4/1 after 2 overs: A terrific delivery that moved away after angling from Ravi Kumar. LHB to LHB, that’s as tough as it gets. Maybe, just maybe, could have missed the offstump though if there was DRS.

WICKET! Over 1.5: Jacob Bethell 2 (5) lbw Ravi Kumar: The left-arm has been fantastic in the knockouts. Big difference maker with the new ball. Superb delivery to remove the dangerous Jacob Bethell. England U19 4/1

England 2/0 after 1 over: A bit too wide in general from Hangargekar there. The radar needs to shift a bit closer to the stumps. Thomas gets going with a drive down the ground.

Thomas and Bethell, the two batters who have taken turns to star in the previous two knockout matches, in the middle. If Bethell gets going, India will have their task cut out. Hangargekar to start. Here we go. Strong breeze across the stadium, clouds around too.

Here we go then. One side with great pedigree in this tournament and one side back in the big time after a long time. Curious thing though, the U19 World Cup. India are in their 4th straight final. England are featuring for the first time in 24 years. But for the 22 players today, past has little bearing on today’s match. Hopefully makes for a great game of cricket.

Time for the national anthems, India followed by England.

Since India’s first final appearance in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2000 to now, cricket has come a long way. But one of the things that has remained consistent in all these years is India’s ability to showcase the well-oiled machine that their cricket system has the potential to be. The men’s Under 19 World Cup of the past has exposed unearthed talent to challenges that give them a taste of what awaits and in the process, created a few superstars who graduated into becoming some of the most talked about names in international cricket.

When the batch of 2022 step on to the field in Antigua for what will be India’s fourth consecutive final at the ICC U19 World Cup, not only do they have a rich history to draw inspiration from, they also have just the right template to ensure that they are able to pull off something special in match situations they may never have encountered before.

Yash Dhull would be hoping to join the list of the four title-winning India U-19 World Cup captains – Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw.

Here is a look at all of India’s past appearances in ICC Under-19 finals so far:

By Samreen Razzaqui: U19 World Cup: Kaif’s team in 2000, Kohli’s in 2008 and more – brief history of India’s past finals

6.18 pm: For India, meanwhile, it will be a new venue after their impressive wins over defending champions Bangladesh in the quarters and then Australia last time out.

In the semi-final, skipper Yash Dhull hit a century, and he is hoping for more of the same as India try to contain England’s big hitters, with long-time India skipper Virat Kohli having offered some words of support to the players.

He said: “It will be a good challenge against England. They play attacking cricket and look to dominate the opposition. Our approach against them will be to bowl as many dot balls as possible.

“The team morale is high. We are excited to play the final. It’s the final but it is still just a game. So, we will play with the positive mindset, stick to the basics and we will look to execute our plans.

“He (Virat Kohli) gave us his best wishes as the team is doing well. So, his words will give us confidence. When a senior player speaks with the team, the team morale gets a boost. He spoke to us about some basic things such as how to play normal cricket, how to stick to our game plan etc. It was good to interact with him.”

(via ICC)

6.15 pm: England skipper Tom Prest is only too aware of that history and how much his side have already achieved, and with the likes of Joe Root and Eoin Morgan having been in touch to offer their support, he is hoping to imitate the squad of 1998.

He said: “It’s the first time in 24 years that England have been in this final. I don’t know if we can believe it at the moment, we’re going to be playing in a World Cup final. It’s something you dream of growing up, so we’re all really excited and can’t wait to play.

“This morning we had messages from quite a few of the England senior team, saying that they had been following it and been really impressed with us. So it’s nice to know we have so much support from back home.

“They were saying that how impressed they have been with us and proud of what we have done getting to our first Under-19 Men’s Final in 24 years. It’s amazing to know they have been watching and following.

“We’ve tried to play that attacking brand of cricket that Eoin Morgan instilled in his squad. Whether that is with the bat, ball or field, we always try to take the positive option. That was one of the messages they were saying in their video they sent this morning – to not back down from the big occasion in the final and still play with that positive intent.”

England should be familiar with the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, having seen off both South Africa and Afghanistan there in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively.

(Via ICC)

TEAM NEWS:

England XI: George Thomas, Jacob Bethell, Tom Prest (c), James Rew, William Luxton, George Bell, Rehan Ahmed, Alex Horton (wk), James Sales, Thomas Aspinwall, Joshua Boyden

India XI: Harnoor Singh Pannu, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shaik Rasheed, Yash Dhull (c), Rajangad Bawa, Nishant Sindhu, Kaushal Tambe, Dinesh Bana (wk), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Vicky Ostwal, Ravi Kumar

TOSS: England win the toss and opt to bat first. “Chasing in a final is always hard,” says Tom Prest. Banking on scoreboard pressure. Yash Dhull says he would have batted first as well. Both teams unchanged from the semifinals.

U19 World Cup final preview: In battle of unbeaten teams, Yash Dhull and Co take on England

05.55 pm: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup final, featuring India and England.

England and India enter the final of the tournament both unbeaten and knowing that the best way to come out on top will be to keep playing attacking cricket.

For India, a record fifth title is the objective in their fourth successive final, while England have enjoyed their best ICC U19 Men’s CWC in 24 years since their one victory.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy: Disney+Hotstar