India defeats England to become world champions for the fifth time

KATHMANDU: FEB. 6 – India won the U-19 ODI World Cup for the sixth time after defeating England by four wickets in the tournament held in the West Indies.

Nishant Sindhu and Dinesh Bana stayed unbeaten on 50 and 13 runs respectively in India’s triumph and returned to the pavilion on Saturday night. Bana hit sixes to help India win the World Cup in 2011, providing a glimpse of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.

Raj Bawa, an all-rounder, was a hero for India. With 31 runs, he took five wickets for England and also played a 35-run inning. Similarly, vice-captain Sheikh Rashid scored 50 runs in a half-century innings.

India had previously won the title five times in the years 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, and 2022. This time, India remained undefeated and won the championship.

England set a modest target of 190 for victory after winning the toss and electing to bat first. India won the World Cup after completing the target with 6 wickets lost in 47.4 overs.

James Rew top-scored for England, which had a poor start, with 95 runs, while James Sales was not out for 34 runs.  George Thomas scored 27 runs while Alex Horton and Rehan Ahmed scored 10 runs each.

James Rew and James Sales shared 93 runs for the eighth wicket to give England some relief after losing seven wickets and scoring only 91 runs. India’s Raj Bawa took five wickets, while Ravi Kumar took four. Kaushal Tambe took another wicket.

Despite a delayed start, India had easily achieved the aim by following the customary target. India had previously reached the finals eight times in the years 2000, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2018, 2020, and 2022.