Yash Dhull & Co. join elite club as India lift U19 World Cup 2022

Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand, Prithvi Shaw, and now it's Yash Dhull who is the new entrant in this elite club. Dhull is the latest addition to the tally of the captains to lead India to the U19 World Cup title. 

The Boys in Blue have been crowned the WORLD CHAMPIONS at the junior level.

The road for Dhull's side though wasn't an easy one. Some of the Indian players including the captain himself had tested positive for Covid-19. But he and the others recovered and fought back marvellously. 

Dhull first led the side to a win against Bangladesh in the quarter-final match and then became only the third Indian captain to score a World Cup ton as he notched up 110 against Australia in the semis. 

Cut to the glorious day. 

Yash Dhull and his troops negotiated all the odds in the most emphatic manner and gave India the fifth World Cup title at the U19 level beating England in the final clash by 4 wickets. 

Raj Bawa, Ravi Kumar rise to the occasion

England won the toss and as expected elected opted to bat first in Antigua. But it seemed as if the Indian bowling unit and especially Raj Bawa and Ravi Kumar were up for the challenge as they didn't let the top and middle-order get into the groove. 

The two bowlers shared a total of 9 wickets among themselves out of the 10 with Kumar returning with figures of 4/34 in 9 overs and Bawa bagging a fifer for 31 runs in 9.1 overs. They just rattled the batting line up with perfect line and length to push England on backfoot and leave them tottering at 91/7. 

James Rew resists

While England were losing wickets at the other end, it was James Rew who showed mettle and held the fort on the opposite side. Rew was joined by James Sales when the England team was struggling at 91/7 and the two batters took on the onus on themselves to produce a fightback. 

While they began the rebuilding of the innings in a cautious manner, Rew didn't shy away from hitting the ball to the fence. 

He eventually scored 95 off 116 before getting caught in the deep by Tambe off Ravi Kumar. Sales on the other side remained unbeaten at 34 off 65 as England managed to put 189 on the scoresheet before getting bowled out. 

Responsible batting from India despite hiccups

India suffered an early blow after Angkrish Raghuvanshi was sent back in the hut for a two-ball duck by Joshua Boyden and the side needed someone to provide resistance. Opener Harnoor Singh was then joined by the in-form Shaik Rasheed in the middle and they both stitched a stand of 49 runs for the second wicket. 

Harnoor was eventually dismissed for 21 off 46. Captain Yash Dhull came out to bat at number four and he along with Rasheed steadied the ship for the team. Rasheed went on to notch up a fifty but his wicket at a team score of 95 gave India hiccups as it was followed by Dhull's dismissal in a span of just 2 runs leaving India in a spot of bother at 97/4. 

Both the batters got out on a stroke that wasn't certainly required at that point of time in the match. Rasheed was caught by Rew off Sales at mid-wicket after he sliced a full-length delivery pitched around the off-stump channel straight up in the air. The ball popped out of the fielder's hand but he managed to gather it well in the second attempt sending Rasheed packing. 

Later, Dhull pulled a short of a length delivery around the waist to the deep square fielder. India now had two new batsmen in Nishant Sindhu and Raj Bawa at the crease and needed them to stick around and provide the team with a responsible partnership. And they did just what the doctor ordered. 

Both Sindhu and Bawa began the rescue operation and didn't play a glory shot till the time they got their eye in. While Sindhu remained unbeaten at 50 off 54 eventually, Bawa made an important contribution with a 54-ball 35 as their partnership of 67 runs for the fifth wicket brought India back in the game. 

Bawa was the fifth batsman to get dismissed while his departure was followed by Kaushal Tambe's wicket in quick succession but that didn't really affect the chase as India went over the line in the 48th over. The wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Bana chipped in with 13* off 5. For England, Joshua Boyden was the pick of the bowlers after he returned with a couple of wickets for 24 runs in 7 overs. 

"Proud moment for India, that we have managed to achieve this. It was difficult at the start to get the combination right. but as time went we became a family and the team atmosphere was good. Great moment to be playing under this lot of support staff," Dhull said after the match.