On paper, the U-19 World Cup final appears to be a mismatch.
On one hand is India, who will be playing their 11th final in search of their sixth trophy, and on the other is England, who have won the title just once — way back in 1998 — and Friday’s contest in Harare will only be their third appearance in the summit clash.
But then, a final, even at the U-19 level, is not like any other match. The big-match tension often fells the favourites. To give the big match a sense of equilibrium, both the finalists have been unbeaten so far. So it’s not that uneven a contest.
India have been the most dominating force in U-19 cricket for years now. Thanks to a robust domestic system, India have been producing top-notch U-19 players every year and many of them also manage to graduate to the senior level successfully.
Even in this current team, there are players who regularly rub shoulders with top-
level cricketers. Thanks to the IPL, the likes of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre have already faced some of the best bowlers in the world and have even been successful against them. So on that front, India definitely have an edge.
However, it’s not just about Suryavanshi or Mhatre, there are quite a few others in the Indian team who can pump up pressure on England on Friday. Aaron George, the opener whose century enabled India to chase down a 300-plus target in the semi-final against Afghanistan on Wednesday with more than 50 balls to spare, is one of them.
Keeper-batter Abhigyan Kundu and all-rounder Kanishk Chouhan are the others who have shown their skills with the bat in this tournament.
On the bowling front, England may feel more confident than their rivals with their 17-year-old right-arm medium pacer Manny Lumsden leading the wicket-takers’ chart with 15 scalps. India do not have anyone in the top five, but their bowling unit has hunted as a pack.
The matches in Harare in this edition of the Cup have seen plenty of runs. Friday may not be different. It will be all about nerves. The Indians will be expected to handle pressure better.
