Ayush Mhatre becomes 6th Indian captain to lift U19 WC title, joins elite list of stars

Harare [Zimbabwe], February 6 (ANI): Young Indian star Ayush Mhatre joined the elite list of five Indian stars, including Virat Kohli and Mohammed Kaif as the sixth captain to win the ICC Under-19 World Cup title.
Mhatre came in clutch just when he needed, and Suryavanshi saved his best for the absolute last, treating the crowd to a scintillating 80-ball 175, breaking record books with each stroke, registering the second-fastest U19 World Cup ton and the most sixes in a U19 WC innings with a total of 15.
Mhatre was struggling with the bat heading into the tournament, and his woes continued deep in the competition. However, with a half-century each against Afghanistan and England in the semifinal and final, respectively, he produced the goods just at the right time. In seven matches, he scored 214 runs at an average of 30.57, with a strike rate of 113.22, with three fifties. He also took seven wickets at an average of 12.42, including a three-fer against Pakistan too.
The skippers to win the U19 WC title are: Mohammed Kaif (2000 edition), Virat (2008 edition), Unmukt Chand (2012 edition), Prithvi Shaw (2018 edition) and Yash Dhull (2022 edition). Kaif, Virat and Shaw have played for India at the international level, with Virat by far being the most successful out of these names. Mhatre could be the next one to take the Indian cap given his attacking style of cricket fits the team's current philosophy, with the 2027 50-over World Cup and the 2029 ICC Champions Trophy ahead.
This 100-run win is the biggest in a U19 WC final, the previous best was 79 runs for Australia against India in Benoni in 2024.
Since 2016 in U19 WC, India has played 38 matches, winning 35, losing just three and winning percentage being 92.1. The three defeats came in the finals of the 2016, 2020 and 2024 editions respectively.
After India opted to bat first, a stunner, record-shattering Vaibhav Suryavanshi masterclass (175 in 80 balls, with 15 fours and 15 sixes), a half-century from skipper Ayush Mhatre (53 in 51 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and a knock from Abhigyan Kundu (40 in 31 balls, with six fours and a six) guided India to a massive 411/9. England lost an early wicket but went from 142/2 courtesy a fine knock from Ben Dawkins (66 in 56 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and a partnership with skipper Thomas Rew (31 in 18 balls, with four boundaries and a six), but collapsed to 177/7 as they progressed. Falconer (115 in 67 balls, with nine fours and seven sixes) put on a spectacular show of power, but all in vain, as they are yet to win the title since the 1998 edition. England was skittled out for 311 runs, with this 722 runs being the highest match aggregate in U19 WC final. (ANI)