India crush England to clinch record sixth U-19 World Cup trophy

HARARE: India lifted their sixth ICC Under-19 World Cup title with a commanding 100-run victory over England in the final. It was a dominant performance as India posted a massive total of 412 runs, the highest ever in an Under-19 World Cup final. In reply, England were bowled out for 311 in 40.2 overs while chasing the daunting target. The star of the match was Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who smashed a brilliant century to power India to the record total.

For England, Caleb Falconer scored a fighting century, but his effort was not enough to challenge India’s imposing score.

Vaibhav was dismissed after scoring 175 runs off just 80 balls. The 14-year-old hit 15 fours and 15 sixes, sending the ball to all parts of the ground. Captain Ayush Mhatre supported him well with a half-century, scoring 53 off 51 balls. Chasing a huge target, England’s batters had no option but to attack from the start. Openers Ben Dawkins (66 off 56) and Ben Mayes (45 off 28) provided a good beginning.

The other opener, Joseph Moores, was the first to be dismissed for 17 off 16 balls. Captain Thomas Rew scored 31 off 18 balls and added important runs with Dawkins. At one stage, England were in a strong position at 142 for 2. However, after Rew was dismissed by Kanishk Chouhan, the middle order collapsed. Ralphie Albert (0), Farhan Ahmed (1), and Sebastian Morgan (0) were dismissed quickly, and England slipped to 177 for 7. From there, Caleb Falconer fought alone, scoring 115 off 67 balls to take England to 311. James Minto scored 28 (41) and Manny Lumsden added 3 (10). For India, R.S. Ambrish took three wickets, while Deepesh Devendran and Kanishk Chouhan picked up two wickets each. Khilan Patel and Ayush Mhatre took one wicket each.

Earlier, batting first, India also got useful contributions from Vedant Trivedi (32 off 36), Vihaan Malhotra (30 off 36), Abhigyan Kundu (40 off 31), R.S. Ambrish (18 off 24), and Kanishk Chouhan (37 not out off 20). Malayali player Aaron George, who had scored a century in the semifinal, managed only nine runs in the final.