India vs England U19 WC Final: Record 6th Title vs 28-Year Drought

The thrilling U19 World Cup final will be held at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.

India is playing its record 10th U19 WC final in what has been an absolute team effort, while England's campaign has been driven by batters Ben Mayes and Thomas Rew, pacer Manny Lumsden and left-arm orthodox spinner Ralphie Albert.

-Suryavanshi scare for England as explosive batter chases history

The left-handed teenage hitter has taken his nation by storm, pocketing a record nearly every time he is on the crease. He enjoys a fine run against England, having made 355 runs in five matches last year at an average of 71.00 and a strike rate of over 174, including a century and fifty each and best score of 143.

Currently with 15 sixes, Suryavanshi has the most sixes by an Indian player in the history of the tournament. Four sixes is all he needs to outdo South Africa's current batting sensation, Dewald Brevis's count of 18 sixes (in the 2022 edition) for most sixes in a single U19 WC.

Rew and Mayes: England's next batting superstars?

U19 cricket has given England some of their finest modern-era cricketers, such as Alastair Cook, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, among others

Mayes is the second-highest run-getter in this tournament with 399 runs in six innings at an average of 79.80 and a strike rate of above 108, including a century, two fifties and a best score of 191. Rew, on the other hand, is the fifth-highest run-getter at an average of 74.75 and a strike rate of over 101, including a century, which came against arch-rivals Australia in the semifinal and two fifties.

India: Collective effort at its very best

It has been a new match-winner for India in every match. While all the hype is around Vaibhav Suryavanshi and skipper Ayush Mhatre because of their IPL presence last season, the team has several stars in the making, which has helped them stay unbeaten.

Henil Patel: 5/16 against the USA, bundling them out for 107. A total of 11 wickets at an average of 15.18 and an economy rate of 4.19.

Vihaan Malhotra: 4/14 against Bangladesh while defending 239, reducing them from 124/4 to 146 all out. 109 against Zimbabwe. A total of 210 runs in six innings at an average of 70.00, with a century and five wickets.

-Kanishk Chauhan: A solid 29-ball 35 and 1/30 in 10 overs against arch-rivals Pakistan, which helped them defend 253 runs. 76 runs in four innings at an average of 25.33 and five wickets. 161 runs at an average of 40.25.

-Aaron George: A brilliant 115 against Afghanistan in the semis to chase down 311, the highest run-chase in U19 WC history.

These are just the players with 'Player of the Match' awards, with Vihaan having a couple to his name. Or else, Suryavanshi (264 runs in six innings at an average of 44.00 and an average of 147.48 and three fifties), Abhigyan Kundu (199 runs in four innings at an average of 66.33 and two fifties) and skipper Mhatre (161 runs in six innings at an average of above 26 and strike rate of 116, including two fifties and six wickets at an average of 9.83) have also done well in different matches. Even pace all-rounder RS Ambrish had a four-wicket haul against NZ, which was outshone by Vihaan's ton. That's almost everyone in the playing XI with a match-winning milestone to their names.

A belter on cards?

In six matches at Harare during this WC, batters have scored at a run rate of 5.42, and the semifinal between India and Afghanistan produced a run rate of 6.81.

Can England's bowlers stop India's happy streak?

For England to stop India's unbeaten run, pacer Lumsden (leading wicket-taker in the tournament at an average of 11.73 with a fifer) and spinner Ralphie (10 wickets in six matches at an average of 21.20) will have to make the day count with clutch performances.

Squads:

India U19 Squad: Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre(c), Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu(w), RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Harvansh Pangalia, Mohamed Enaan, Udhav Mohan, Kishan Kumar Singh

England U19 Squad: Ben Dawkins, Joseph Moores, Ben Mayes, Thomas Rew(w/c), Caleb Falconer, Ralphie Albert, Farhan Ahmed, Sebastian Morgan, James Minto, Manny Lumsden, Alex French, Alex Green, Isaac Mohammed, Luke Hands, Will Bennison, Ali Farooq.

- ANI