It is a repeat of the 2018 U19 World Cup final this year as India and Australia face each other in the title clash at the Willowmoore Park in Benoni, South Africa. Both sides, Australia more than India, played a couple of close matches in the semi-finals. While India beat South Africa by two wickets, Australia beat Pakistan by one.
The semi-final marked the first time that India had been truly challenged in the tournament. Of the five games that they had won before that, India enjoyed a winning margin of over 200 runs in three of them. A number of players have stepped up at different junctures for them, let’s take a look at a few.
Uday Saharan: The captain has been inspirational in the field and with the bat. Saharan is the highest scorer in the tournament and has shown the ability to play long innings and put a value on his wicket while maintaining a good strike rate. It was him and Sachin Dhas who led India to victory against South Africa despite being 32/4 at one point chasing 245.
Sachin Dhas: The right-hander has had dream outings in his last two matches, both in big partnerships with Saharan. He smashed 100 in 107 balls against Nepal in India’s last Super Six match abd then led them to victory against South Africa with 96 in 95 balls.
Musheer Khan: Musheer came in with the reputation of being a dependable all-rounder, apart from being prolific Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan’s brother. Over the course of the tournament, he has lived up to that feeling and Musheer is the second highest run scorer going into the final. He has made 338 runs in six matches with two centuries and a half century. Musheer has also chipped in with six wickets at an average of 23.33.
Saumy Pandey: India’s highest wicket-taker of this tournament and their vice-captain, Panday has drawn comparisons with Ravindra Jadeja for his dependance on his shoulder for generating speed and his accuracy. Pandey has taken 17 wickets and his average and economy of 8.47 and 2.44 are the highest for any bowler with a minimum of five wickets in this tournament.
Arshin Kulkarni: If he doesn’t get you with the bat, he will get you with the ball. While that has pretty much been how Kulkarni has played in the tournament, he had a rare off day with both in the semi-final against South Africa. Kulkarni conceded 10 runs for no wickets in his two overs and was then dismissed for just 12 runs. Still, Kulkarni is that rare talent in Indian cricket who can open the batting and bowl a full spell of genuine pace and just that makes him one of India’s most important weapons in the final. Kulkarni has scored 186 runs which includes a century. He has also taken four wickets at an average of 16.75.
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