The ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022 will see India clash with England in the final, with India aiming to win the title for the fifth time while England will be hoping to end 24 years of pain.
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The ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022 will witness the top two teams clash in the summit encounter at North Sound, Antigua. India and England are the two undefeated teams in the competition, topping their groups and sailing into the playoffs. India notched up epic wins against South Africa, Uganda, Ireland, Bangladesh, and Australia to storm into the final. England, on the other hand, played magnificent cricket to dismantle former defending champions Bangladesh for under 100 in the league stages. They managed to get past South Africa and somehow held their nerve against Afghanistan in the semifinal.
India, on the other hand, continued their domination of the ICC Under-19 World Cup. This was the fourth consecutive time that they had reached the final. India will be gunning for a record fifth title but their recent trends in the Under-19 World Cup have not been good. They have won the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2012 and 2018 but they lost in the final in 2016 and 2020. Out of the seven finals that they have been in, India has lost three times in 2006, 2016, and 2020.
Ahead of the final, here is a look at India’s performance in all the seven finals that they have been in for the ICC Under-19 World Cup.
India had reached the final on the back of some spectacular shows in the league stages. The Sri Lanka team had some future stars like Jehan Mubarak, Thilina Kandamby, Kaushal Lokuarachchi in their team. India, on the other hand, had Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Reetinder Sodhi, Ajay Ratra, and Venugopal Rao who served India with distinction.
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Sri Lanka chose to bat but they were immediately jolted by India’s discipline. Shalabh Srivastava was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while he got good support from the other bowlers. Sri Lanka’s batters could not get going, with only Jehan Mubarak hitting a fifty. Sri Lanka was bowled out for 178 and India chased it down easily. Reetinder Singh Sodhi smashed 39 and he got good support from Niraj Patel as India won by six wickets. Yuvraj Singh was named the Man of the Series while Sodhi was named the Man of the Match.
Perhaps the most perplexing loss in the history of Indian cricket. Pakistan was the defending champions heading into the 2006 edition. But, here they reached the final where they would face India. On a sluggish wicket, Pakistan batted first and they were decimated by the guile of Piyush Chawla who ended with figures of 8.1-3-8-4. He got great support from Ravindra Jadeja who finished with 3/16 in eight overs. Pakistan could manage only 109, with Rameez Raja Jr top-scoring with 25.
But, India was blown away by Anwar Ali and Jamshed Ahmed as they were reduced to 23/7. The first seven batters in the Indian team registered scores of 0,0, 4,1,0,0,6. Piyush Chawla looked to rescue India with a composed 25 and he had a solid stand with Pinal Shah who hit 16. But, Akhtar Ayub cleaned up the tail, and India was bowled out for 71. The 38-run win made Pakistan the first team to successfully defend the ICC Under-19 World Cup.
This tournament had already seen Virat Kohli emerge as one of the greatest players in the modern era. His century against the West Indies and his aggressive captaincy against New Zealand saw India reach the final against South Africa. In the final in Kuala Lumpur, South Africa chose to bowl and they made regular inroads. Tanmay Srivastava was the top scorer with 46 and aided by valuable knocks from Manish Pandey, Saurabh Tiwary and Ravindra Jadeja, India managed to reach 159.
Rain interrupted the South Africa innings and they were given a target of 116 from 25 overs. South Africa was reduced to 22/4 before Reeza Hendricks and Wayne Parnell stitched a solid stand. But, Ajitesh Argal, Ravindra Jadeja, and Siddarth Kaul took two wickets apiece as India won by 12 runs. The tournament gave the cricketing world the brilliance of Kohli, who would dominate the world from 2009 till 2022.
India had made it to the final after losing their opening game to the West Indies. Strong performances against Pakistan and New Zealand saw them reach the final against an Australian side that was undefeated. India chose to bowl in Townsville and had reduced Australia to 38/4. William Bosisto, along with Travis Head stitched a solid 65-run stand. Ashton Turner also chipped in as Bosisto stayed unbeaten on 87. Australia had reached 225/8.
But, Unmukt Chand stepped up and delivered a memorable performance. After losing Prashant Chopra cheaply, Chand and Baba Aparajith stitched a solid stand. Despite losing a few wickets, Chand and Smit Patel ensured that India did not receive any further jolts. Chand blasted seven fours and six sixes to smash 111. Patel ended up on 62 as India clinched the Under-19 World Cup title in grand style. Sadly, barring Sandeep Sharma, none from the squad went on to play for India.
India had put up some magnificent performances in the league stages, with Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan leading the way. West Indies chose to bowl and they had India on the ropes at 50/5. Sarfaraz Khan was the lone warrior with an aggressive 51 but no one else supported him. India was bowled out for 145, with future international Alzarri Joseph taking three wickets along with Ryan John. West Indies soaked up to the hostile Indian bowling with Keacy Carty hitting 52. Keemo Paul smashed 40 as West Indies won the match by five wickets with three balls to spare. The year 2016 would be golden for West Indies, with the women’s and the men’s teams winning the ICC World T20 as well.
It was a dominating performance from India in all facets of the game. Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, and Manjot Kalra were the top performers with the bat. Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi had starred with the ball. India was unbeaten in the whole tournament, notching up handsome wins against all opponents. Their 203-run win against Pakistan was simply sensational. Australia, on the other hand, was boosted by Lloyd Pope’s sensational 8/35 in the semifinal against England.
In the final, Australia was undone by India’s accuracy and discipline from the bowlers. Anukul Roy, Nagarkoti, Shiva Singh, and Ishan Porel all took two wickets apiece to reduce Australia to 216 all out. Only Jonathan Merlo managed to score big with 76. But, India was boosted by Manjot Kalra’s ton and aided by contributions from Shubman Gill and Harvik Desai, India registered a dominating eight-wicket win in Mount Maunganui to win the title for a record fourth time.
India had once again dominated all the opponents heading into the final. But, in the summit clash, they faced a pumped-up and angry Bangladesh determined to get the better of their neighbors. India had coasted to 103/1, with Yashasvi Jaiswal looking in great touch. But, Bangladesh struck back with ferocity. Avishek Das, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and Shoriful Islam struck at regular intervals. India did not help themselves with a couple of run-outs. Yashasvi Jaiswal hit 88 but he missed out on his ton. India was bowled out for 177.
Bangladesh started well but Ravi Bishnoi took four wickets in a brilliant display of bowling. But, Bangladesh skipper Akbar Ali played with tremendous maturity. The rain coming saw Bangladesh’s target come down slightly. Akbar Ali guided Bangladesh over the line as they won their first-ever ICC trophy. For India, it was a heartbreak in a bitter, hostile final.
