Road to Final: Undefeated India in Fourth Successive Men's U-19 World Cup Final

A recap of India's unbeaten run in the 2022 ICC Under-19 World Cup.

(Photo: ICC) 

With four titles, India are the most successful team in the ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup history and Yash Dhull's side are on the cusp of adding another trophy to the cabinet on Saturday night when they take on England in the final.

The fixture is the fourth straight time they're appearing in the final, with their last title win coming in 2018, before they lost to Bangladesh in the final in 2020.

Here's a look at how the squad have fought off opponents, and Covid, to reach the final.

Match 1: India beat South Africa by 45 Runs

Yash Dhull played a captain's knock of 82, while left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal grabbed a five-wicket haul as India began their campaign in the Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup with a commanding 45-run victory over South Africa in their opening Group B match.

The four-time champions, after setting a target of 233 for the Proteas to win, bundled out the 2014 champions for just 187 in 45.4 overs with Ostwal doing most of the damage to the South African top and middle-order.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Harnoor Singh were part of a 164-run partnership in the win against Ireland.

(Photo: ICC)

Match 2: India beat Ireland by 174 Runs

Following the big win in their opener, the Indian team were dealt a big setback with six members of the squad testing positive for COVID-19. Among the players ruled out was skipper Yash Dhull.

However, the team soldiered on in their campaign and closed a 174-run win in their second group stage encounter, beating Ireland to enter the quarter-final.

The four-time champions scored 307/5 from their 50 overs, thanks to the batting unit coming to the party and then the bowlers did a good job of bowling out Ireland for 133 in 39 overs to be on top of Group B. The win was majorly set up by opener Harnoor Singh making 88 off 101 balls with 12 boundaries and was involved in a 164-run partnership with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who made a run-a-ball 79, at the top.

Raj Bawa of India celebrates his century with team mate Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

(Photo: ICC)

Match 3: India Break Records in 326-Run Win Over Uganda

Raj Bawa and Angkrish Raghuvanshi smashed fine centuries as India recorded their second-highest score in an Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup match to crush Uganda by a massive 326 runs.

Opener Raghuvanshi smashed a 120-ball 144 and Bawa scored an unbeaten 162 off just 108 deliveries, which came at a strike rate of 150, as India notched up 405 for 5 in the allotted 50 overs and then bundled out their opponents for just 79 runs, winning their last Group B match by 326 runs.

India's 405/5 was only behind their 425/3 against Scotland in 2004. In that game, Shikhar Dhawan had slammed an unbeaten 155, the previous highest individual score for India at an ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup.

Rajvardhan Hangargekar of India bowling during the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup quarter-final vs Bangladesh.

(Photo: ICC)

Match 4: India Beat Defending Champions Bangladesh, Enter Semis

This one was a little about revenge as well as Bangladesh had beaten India in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2020. But in 2022, India defeated the Rakibul Hasan-led side by five wickets in the Super League quarterfinal, to set up a last-four clash with Australia.

Bangladesh were no match for the Indian bowlers, especially left-arm pacer Ravi Kumar (3/14) and the reliable left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal (2/25) as they did not allow the opponents' batters score freely, maintaining a miserly economy rate and bundling them out for 111 in 37.1 overs.

In a repeat of the 2020 final, India bowled first and dismissed the Tigers cheaply before their batters chased down the modest target for the loss of five wickets with more than 19 overs to spare. India have an amazingly strong record in ICC U-19 Men's Cricket World Cup quarterfinals, with this their seventh win in nine matches.

Yash Dhull celebrates his century in the ICC Under-19 World Cup semi-final. 

(Photo: BCCI)

Match 5: Dhull's Century Helps India Beat Australia, Enter Final

An even-ball century by skipper Yash Dhull (110) and his 204-run partnership for the third wicket with Shaik Rasheed (94) set up the team's 96-run victory against Australia in the semi-final.

Electing to bat first, India were in a spot of bother at 37/2 with both openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi (6) and Harnoor Singh (16) back in the pavilion. Skipper Dhull (110 off 110) and Rasheed (94 off 108) then stitched together a majestic partnership of 204 runs to help the 2020 finalists reach 290/4 in 50 overs.

In reply, Australia succumbed to the pressure created by India's bowlers in the middle overs and lost their way despite a fighting half-century by Lachlan Shaw (51 off 66) to be eventually restricted to 194 all out in 41.5 overs, falling short by 96 runs.