Fine performance, India win U-19 WC

Chandigarh, February 6

Chandigarh lad Raj Angad Bawa was the star of the final as India won a record fifth Under-19 World Cup cricket title, beating England by four wickets in North Sound, Antigua, on Saturday.

Edit: India’s U-19 world cup win

Turning in a fine all-round performance, Bawa picked five wickets for 31 runs as India bowled out England for 189 in 44.5 overs. Bawa, whose father Sukhwinder Singh Bawa is a well-known coach, made a steady 35 as India completed the chase with 14 balls left.

With India needing 12 runs off the last three overs, another lad from the region, Dinesh Bana, produced an explosive finish by hitting two sixes to end the match in the 48th over. Bawa, named the Man of the Match, said: “It always feels great to contribute to the team in any match, but in a final it feels really special.” The families of Bawa and Bana, as also the families of other players from the region, Harnoor Singh, Garv Sangwan and Nishant Sindhu, were in celebration mode through the day. Yash Dhull, who joined Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw in the list of victorious Indian captains, said: “It’s a proud moment. It was good batting and a good comeback by England. But we kept cool and focus.”

This was the fourth consecutive final played by an Indian team in the U-19 World Cup, and victory is especially sweet because India had suffered a bitter defeat to Bangladesh in final two years ago. —