India and England have had contrasting fortunes in the U-19 World Cup. India will be playing their fourth final in a row and eighth in the history of the U-19 World Cups while England will be playing their first final since 1988 — the first-ever edition of the competition.
India thumped Australia by 96 runs in the semi-final to enter the final while England edged Afghanistan in a thriller to reach the summit clash.
India and England are the only teams unbeaten in the tournament. Both have had a dominant run. England beat Bangladesh, Canada, UAE in the group stage, South Africa in the quarters and Afghanistan in the semis. India beat South Africa, Ireland, Uganda in the groups, Bangladesh in the quarter-final and Australia in the semi-final.
With the two teams having confidence and momentum on their sides, it’s going to be a riveting contest.
However, statistically and historically India have had an upper hand over England in the U-19 World Cups. They have won six out of the eight matches and lost just two.
The early clashes were dominated by India as they won five in a row.
In 1988, the Mylvahanan Senthilnathan led Indian team beat the Mike Atherton-led England team by two wickets in a thriller.
In 1998, captain Amit Pagnis led from the front with a 99 as India won by 51 runs in the Super League pool. Another dominant win followed in 2000, as the Indian bowlers restricted England to 182/9 and chased it down with nine wickets and 7.3 overs to spare with the openers Ravneet Ricky (68) and Manish Sharma (86) hitting half-centuries.
The two sides met in the semi-final of the 2006 World Cup and India absolutely thumped England by 234 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara hit an unbeaten 129 as India posted 292/4. In reply, pacer Abu Nechim ripped through the England batting line-up with four wickets as India bundled England out for 58 to reach the final.
Another good bowling performance two years later saw them bowl England out for 146. Opener Taruwar Kohli hit 63 as India chased down the total with 10.5 overs and seven wickets to spare.
England finally got one on India in 2010. The Azeem Rafiq-led side saw Ben Stokes hit an 88-ball 100 to post a competitive 246/8. And then he followed it up with two wickets at the top as India were bowled out for 215. Pacer David Payne picked up 3/40.
India though bounced back in the same edition and won the 5th place Play-off semi-final by 7 wickets.
England got their second win under the belt in 2014. That’s the last time these two teams met in a U-19 World Cup. England restricted India to 221/8. And then No 4 batter Ben Duckett’s 61 and lower-orders crucial contribution helped England past the finish line in the last over in a tense run chase.
England would be looking to improve their record when they meet India in the final of this edition.
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