India vs England, U19 World Cup final: Full preview, key players, head-to-head record and form guide

IND vs ENG, U19 World Cup final: India and England will fight it out at the Harare Sports Club to win the tournament on Friday.

History beckons for India and England. The two teams, who squared off just last year in a multi-format series, will face off at the Harare Sports Club in the U19 World Cup final on Friday, February 6. Both teams have been undefeated in the tournament so far, and it would be a fitting finale. India would aim to win the competition for the sixth time, while England is chasing a second title. India has previously won the tournament in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, and 2022, while England has tasted victory just once, way back in 1998.

IND vs ENG, U19 World Cup final: India and England will fight it out at the Harare Sports Club (HT_PRINT)

India defeated Afghanistan in the semi-final by seven wickets and 53 balls to spare after chasing the target of 311, owing to solid knocks by Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Ayush Mhatre and Vihaan Malhotra. On the other hand, England got the better of Australia to enter the final.

Both India and England head into the U19 final undefeated, and hence the finale promises to be a cracker. Last year, India got the better of England in the Youth ODI series as Vaibhav Suryavanshi showed his class and temperament, scoring 355 runs in five matches, also becoming the youngest to score a century in Youth ODIs.

India vs England Colts head-to-head record

India and England U19 have played 54 matches against one another, with India coming out on top 40 times. England have won 13 times while the remaining one match was tied between the two teams.

India vs England form guide (last six matches)

India: WWWWWW

England: WWWWWW

Players to watch out for

For England, Ben Mayes would be the one to watch out for, as he has been the leading run-scorer for the team in the competition, scoring 399 runs in six games at an average of 79.80 and a strike rate of 108.72. Skipper Thomas Rew would also be the one to keep an eye on, as he has also been striking the ball well, amassing 299 runs in six games.

For India, as expected, all eyes would be on Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The left-handed dasher has averaged 44 in the U19 World Cup so far, but he has been far from his best, and hence he would look to strike big on the day it truly matters. He hit 68 runs off 33 balls in the semi-final against Afghanistan and would hope to carry on the momentum. He has so far scored 264 runs in the tournament, at a strike rate of more than 147.

Likely XIs:

India U19: Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre (captain), Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wicketkeeper), RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran.

England U19: Ben Dawkins, Joseph Moores, Ben Mayes, Thomas Rew (captain/wicketkeeper), Caleb Falconer, Ralphie Albert, Farhan Ahmed, Sebastian Morgan, James Minto, Manny Lumsden, Alex French.

Full squad:

India U19: Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre, Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Harvansh Pangalia, Mohamed Enaan, Udhav Mohan, Kishan Kumar Singh.

England U19: Ben Dawkins, Joseph Moores, Ben Mayes, Thomas Rew, Caleb Falconer, Ralphie Albert, Farhan Ahmed, Sebastian Morgan, James Minto, Manny Lumsden, Alex French, Alex Green, Isaac Mohammed, Luke Hands, Will Bennison, Ali Farooq.