India have been the only constant in ICC U19 World Cup finals since 2016, on the contrary their opponents in the summit clash have been different on each of the four occasions.. The most dominant team in the history of the tournament will on Saturday get the opportunity to extend their record to five U19 World Cup titles when they take on the unbeaten England side at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. Ahead of the blockbuster meeting at North Sound, we take a look at India’s performance in the last seven World Cup finals.

2000 U19 World Cup final – beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets

A 3/33 from Shalabh Srivastava along with an economical 0/26 in 10 overs from Reetinder Sodhi helped India restrict Sri Lanka to just 178 in Colombo after Jehan Mubarak’s valiant 108-ball 58.

In response to the low total, India started on a steady note with the openers scripting a half-century stand before they lost two quick wickets. Captain Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh looked to revive the innings, but only added 31 runs between themselves before two departed in quick succession. Sodhi then rose to the occasion to score an impressive 43-ball 39*, and was ably assisted by Niraj Patel’s unbeaten 34 off 44 as India finished the chase in 40.4 overs to win their maiden U19 World Cup trophy.

2006 U19 World Cup final – lost to Pakistan by 38 runs

Six years after their maiden title victory, Team India, that comprised the likes of Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla, was back in the final at the same venue where they had defeated Sri Lanka in 2000, but were up against their arch nemesis and the defending champion, Pakistan. After being out to bowl first, the spin combination of Jadeja and Chawla picked seven wickets between themselves as the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Pakistan side were folded for a dismal 109. And just when it seemed that Pakistan had handed over India a simple World Cup final victory, Anwar Ali wreaked havoc, picking 5 for 35 while Akhtar Ayub picked three as India were decimated for just 71, inside 18.5 overs as Pakistan retained the trophy.

2008 U19 World Cup – beat- South Africa by 12 runs via D/L method

A collective effort from the South African attack and the fielders saw India being folded for 159 after Tanmay Srivastava’s fighting 74-ball 49. India’s new-ball pair of Ajitesh Argal and Pradeep Sangwan then reduced South Africa to three down for just 11 before rain interrupted the summit clash. On resumption, South Africa needed 99 more off 98 balls the bowlers held their nerves as the batters struggled to score boundaries on the damp outfield before they fell 12 runs short of the revised target of 116 as the Virat Kohli-led side won India’s second World Cup title.

2012 U19 World Cup final – beat Australia by 6 wickets

After Sandeep Sharma’s twice strikes with the new ball left Australia four down, captain William Bosisto, Travis Head and Ashton Turner revived the innings with the skipper scoring 87 off 120 as Australia finished with 225 for eight in Townsville. In response, captain Unmukt Chand’s record unbeaten knock of 111 runs single-handedly guided India to their third World Cup victory as the team finished the chase with 14 balls remaining.

2016 U19 World Cup – lost to West Indies by 5 wickets

Sarfaraz Khan was India’s lone fighter with his 89-ball 51 as the Windies pace-bowling duo of Alzarri Joseph and Ryan John rattled the Indian batting line-up picking six wickets between themselves. After setting a target of 146, the Indian attack fought tooth and nail, right till the end to defend the paltry total before Keacy Carty and Keemo Paul held their nerves in the final over to take West Indies to a World Cup victory in Mirpur.

2018 U19 World Cup – beat Australia by 8 wickets

At the same venue where India had beaten the Aussies in their tournament opener, the Prithvi Shaw-led side completed their unbeaten campaign in New Zealand with a dominating eight-wicket victory. After Jonathan Merlo’s 76 guided Australia to 216, Manjot Kalra’s unbeaten 101, alongside Harvik Desai’s 47 helped India finish the chase in just 38.5 overs.

2020 U19 World Cup – lost to Bangladesh by 3 wickets

A riveting final between India and Bangladesh led to an on-field altercation between the players from both camps. Bangladesh beat India in a closely contested final by 3 wickets (DLS method) to claim their first-ever ICC trophy. Bangladesh skipper Akbar Ali anchored a tricky run-chase by scoring 43 off 77 deliveries, steering his side to the revised 170 target with 23 balls to spare. Bangladesh’s celebrations after scripting history led to a scuffle where members of both teams almost came to blows. Indian skipper Priyam Garg termed Bangladesh’s reaction after winning the U19 World Cup as ‘dirty’ and opposition captain Ali also said that the incident should not have had happened and apologised on his team’s behalf.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times