North Sound (Antigua): India won their fifth Under-19 World Cup title defeating England by wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here Saturday. After England won the toss and decided to bat, Indian pacers Raj Bawa (5/31) and Ravi Bawa (4/34) ran through the opposition batsmen to restrict them to a score below 200. Raj Bawa also contributed with the bat scoring an important 35 (54b, 2×4, 1×6). After India had been reduced to 97 for four, Bawa and Nishant Sandhu (50 n o, 54b, 5×4, 1×6) added 67 runs for the fifth wicket to ensure victory for the Boys in Blue. India ultimately finished on 195 for the loss of six world.
The situation would have been worse for England had it not been a for a eighth wicket stand of 93 runs between James Rew (95, 116b, 12×4) and James Sales (34, 65b, 2×4). The two came together when England were reeling at 91 for the loss of seven wickets and gave their side’s total some sense of respectability. However, in the end it did not prove to be enough.
The only England wicket to fall to an Indian spinner was that of Alex Thorton. He was dismissed by off-spinner Kaushal Tambe for 10. India’s main spinner Vicky Ostwal had an off day in the final going for 31 runs in his five overs. However, that did not matter as Bawa and Kumar sliced through the England order.
Shaik Rasheed (50, 84b, 6×4) got an important half century, but the fifth title wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Nishant and Bawa. They steadied the innings when England thought they had opened the door. Both were ready to punish the loose ball, but presented a dead bat against the good deliveries. The good thing about Nishant’s innings was that he was always ready to take the quick single, never allowing the England bowlers to settle down. It was Nishant’s innings that took India over the line in a tense encounter.
Dinesh Bana hastened England’s downfall with two successive sixes of Sales in the 48th over.
Brief scores: England 189 all out in 44.5 overs (James Rew 95, Raj Bawa 5/31, Ravi Kumar 4/34) lost to India195 for 6 in 47.4 overs (Nishant Sandhu 50 n o, Shaik Rasheed 50) by 4 wickets.