India claims record-extending fifth crown. England’s collapse to 91-7 is followed by James Rew’s 95 which propels them to 189. India achieves their target with 14 balls left at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium Antigua
England’s bid to win the Under-19 World Cup was thwarted by India, who defeated them in four wickets in Antigua.
Tom Prest’s men aimed to emulate the 1998 side, which included Owais Shah, Rob Key and Graeme Swann. They won England’s first title in the tournament.
They were then reduced to 91-7, and all out for 193 in 44.5 overs. James Rew scored 95 off 116 balls and was the only batter to surpass 34.
After a few stumbles, India reached its target with 14 deliveries left to add to their titles of 2000, 2008 and 2012, with dot balls increasing towards the end.
India lost their sixth wicket in 47 overs with 14 runs remaining. However, they won the victory in 48 overs. James Sales bowled the match. Dinesh Bana (13no of 5) ran back-to-back sixes, sparking wild celebrations. Nishant Sindhu was unbeaten with 50 runs from 54 deliveries.
England’s left-hander Rew was the standout batter, scoring 93 runs with Sales (34no). India seamers Raj Bawa (5-31) & Ravi Kumar (4-34) combined picked up nine wickets.
Raj had George Bell as his wicket, which was a golden duck after an unplayable shortball brushed the batter’s hand after zoning in to his grille.
England was aggressive with the ball, and India fell to 97-4 in 29 overs. India lost Shaik Rasheed (50 from 84), but Prest was perhaps too conservative with his field placements.
Raj (35) and Nishant (35) joined forces for a fifth-wicket partnership of 67. England scored twice more but India won the match to make it six out of six in this tournament. This was the first defeat for Prest’s team, who can be proud about their achievements in the Caribbean over the past few weeks.
Rew leads recovery after England’s collapse
Kumar dismissed Prest(0) and Jacob Bethell (2) in the fourth over. England fell to 18-2. England had elected to bat. Bethell was pinned lbw, and Prest was seen dragging onto his stumps while he tried to pull.
Rew (27) and George Thomas (27) were both the only top six players to reach double figures as India took control of the batting lineup.
Thomas had made a few good strokes, including a six over midwicket. However, he was dropped on 26 at slip and died one run later. He tried to move the scoreboard after a catalog of dots balls but ballooned into the off side of a leading edge.
England was at that point 37-3. England then became 61-6 when Raj ran wild – backing up Thomas’ wicket by dismissing Will Luxton ((4) and Bell(0)) from consecutive balls in the 13th and Rehan Ahmed (10 in the 17th), with each of those batters being caught by either a wicketkeeper or slip.
Sales joined Rew after Alex Horton snuck spinner Kaushal Tambe in the on-side. The duo went on to score quickly and get England out of trouble.
Rew was a great scorer, scoring on either side of the wicket, as he drove, pulled, reverse-swept, and swung his way to a 79 ball half-century.
Rew had a century in his sights but the Somerset man fell five short when Kumar was pulled to deep square leg by Kumar. Tambe then made a fine catch with one hand after the ball had initially squirmed out of his grasp.
Tom Aspinwall(0) was left behind by Raj two balls later. Raj then took England No 11 Boyden (1) out of his final over to secure his five-for and end Kumar’s hopes for that achievement. England’s last three wickets went down for only five runs.
India wins, but England strikes early
England received an early boost in the chase after Boyden nicked Angkrish Raghuvanshi (0)’s second ball. However, Rasheed’s stands with Harnoor Sing (21) and skipper Yashdhull (17) propelled India to a position where it was truly strong at 95-2.
However, a twist occurred when Rasheed and then Yash were both hacked out in successive Sales Overs – Rasheed leaving shortly after sealing an 83 ball half-century.
India rallied around Raj and Sindhu, but England fought back as Aspinwall and Boyden accounted respectively for Raj (1) and Tambe (1) – Tambe was able to catch a huge catch from Ahmed at the backward point.
England’s run chase had another highlight: Horton, wicketkeeper, caught a brilliant one-handed reverse-cup catch to remove Harnoor. Horton was flinging himself right to grab the ball down his leg-side but his incredible catch was in vain. India won the trophy.
Prest: A tournament that we will never forget
England skipper Tom Preston: “Batting first, we would have preferred a better start, but the way Rew batted afterwards, he deserved to get a hundred. We reached a point where we felt that we were in the game, and we gave it our best shot.
“We have a strong bowling attack, and taking a wicket in our first over gave us confidence. India batted very well and had some great partnerships so credit to them.
It’s been incredible, and we all enjoyed it. It was something we will never forget, and we are all proud of our accomplishments.”
Hussain: India’s most talented team
Sky Sports’ Nasserhussain: I was impressed with England’s bat play and the recovery to put up a score that could have been defended. Although they did manage to get a few quick wickets, it was too little too late. India was the tournament’s best team.
They are extremely talented. They are skilled with the bat and spin, but they have recently added fast seamers. They were able to get it through on a flat Antigua pitch and reduce England to 91-7. A final on a flat pitch is pretty much over.
What’s next?
While England’s Under-19s are able to forget their loss, they can also look back on a successful tournament. England Women will be back in action in Melbourne on Sunday for the Women’s Ashes.
