Continuing their dominating run, India have sealed their place in the final of the ICC U-19 World Cup 2022 for the fourth straight time. The young Indian team, led by Yash Dhull, has been too good for all their opponents. It has been a tough journey as well for the side when they struggled to put together a fit XI due to several team members getting infected with COVID, including captain Dhul and his deputy Shaik Rasheed. Let us have a look at the performing side’s journey so far.
The passage to the finals
The passage to the final was all about breaking records along the way. India was pooled in Group B alongside South Africa, Ireland, and Uganda in their tournament. They faced a tough challenge in the opener against the Proteas where they were put in to bat first and were all out for 232. India defended the total with the help of Vicky Ostwal (5/28) and Raj Bawa (4/47) to trigger a collapse of the Proteas, bundling them for 187 in 45.4 overs.
The Indians managed to thrash Ireland by 174 runs in their second match. Five members of the India U-19 squad were unavailable for their clash against Ireland after a COVID outbreak. Captain Dhull, vice-captain Rasheed, Aaradhya Yadav, Manav Parakh, and Siddarth Yadav were part of that group and missed both the Ireland and Uganda fixtures, while the BCCI had to fly in reinforcements.
The clinical batting performance by the openers added 167 runs against Ireland, while a useful contribution from the middle-order fired them to a huge score of 307/5. Post this win, both the captain and vice-captain joined the team for the quarter-finals against Bangladesh. It was an act of easy revenge for their loss in the final of the 2020 edition of the World Cup against the same opposition. After opting to bowl first, India bowled out Bangladesh for a paltry 111, winning the match by five wickets.
In the semi-final against the Aussies, Dhull opted to bat first on a tricky surface after winning the toss but lost their openers early. The captain and vice-captain duo were overtly cautious, playing a lot of dot balls in the initial stage. But at the need of the hour, the skipper displayed his batting class with solid technique, scoring runs square of the pitch and behind the square against spinners while sharing a 204-run stand with his deputy to fire India to a formidable 290/5.
A collective and all-around performance from India didn’t give any chance to its opponents to bounce back in any of the games, and it surely is their key ingredient in their success in proceeding towards the finals of the tournament. They’ll now face England in the summit clash on Saturday at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua. India’s rich history of domination at the U-19 World Cup will be challenged by England, who’ve reached the final for the first time in 24 years. The Indian Under-19 team is considered to be one of the best, especially after its splendid show in the last nine editions of the World Cup. They have shown their true potential once again, reaching yet another World Cup final.