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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

England lose U19 World Cup final to India despite James Rew's impressive 95

India have won the Under 19 World Cup after beating England by four wickets in the final, with Raj Bawa, Ravi Kumar and Nishant Sindhu all starring.

Despite an excellent 95 from James Rew, England were bowled out for just 189 and India chased down their target with 14 balls remaining, with things getting very tight towards the end.

Having won the toss and decided to bat first, England got off to a horror start when they lost both of their leading run scorers cheaply in the powerplay.

The dangerous Jacob Bethell was the first wicket to fall, getting pinned lbw for two by Kumar in the second over of the match.

Kumar then removed England captain Tom Prest for a duck in his next over, with the Hampshire prospect dragging the ball onto his own stumps.

India beat England by four wickets in the final (Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

England finished the powerplay on 37-2, with India continuing to pile the pressure on England with George Thomas and Rew struggling to get away.

After India bowled 17 consecutive balls without conceding a boundary, Thomas attempted a big shot and was caught by India skipper Yash Dhull at cover off the bowling of Bawa.

Thomas was the set England batter, having made 27, and his dismissal was a key one for India, who continued to tighten their grip on their match.

Bawa then picked up two wickets in his next over, dismissing both Will Luxton and George Bell in consecutive deliveries.

Luxton was caught by wicketkeeper Dinesh Bana for four off a top-edge, while Bell fell victim to a brutal short ball from Bawa.

The delivery lifted sharply off the pitch and struck Bell on the gloves before getting caught by Bawa, with the youngster falling for a golden duck.

Raj Bawa picked up an impressive five-wicket haul in the final for India (Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

All-rounder Rehan Ahmed became Bawa's fourth victim when he was caught at slip for 10 and wicketkeeper Alex Horton also fell for 10, dragging Kaushal Tambe straight to midwicket to leave England 91-7.

However, Rew was still there after absorbing the pressure and battling to 37 off 66 balls when he was joined at the crease by number nine James Sales.

Together they were able to kick on and push England towards their final total of 198 all out, with Rew coming to the fore.

James Rew scored a valiant 95 (Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

The pair added 93 runs after coming together with the score 91-7, the highest ever eighth-wicket stand in an Under 19 World Cup final

Rew made his first half-century first half-century of the tournament, while Sales finished on 34 not out, with Rew denied a hundred by a stunning catch on the boundary from Tambe.

It should have been a relatively simple catch, but Tambe almost fumbled it, juggling the ball twice before diving forward to take a one-handed grab on the rebound.

It was heartbreaking for Rew, who had batted brilliantly for his 95, and his demise meant England's innings only lasted a further ten balls, with Kumar and Bawa taking the final two wickets.

The two seamers picked up nine wickets between them, with Kumar taking 4-34 and Bawa taking 5-31, to leave India in complete control of the final.

With just 189 runs on the board, England desperately needed to take early wickets and they did pick up one in the powerplay.

Joshua Boyden did make an early breakthrough for England, getting Angkrish Raghuvanshi caught behind for a duck (Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

16-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi fell for a duck off just the second ball of India's innings, edging behind off Josh Boyden.

However, Harnoor Singh and Shaik Rasheed safely negotiated the remainder of the powerplay, with India 33-1.

The pair added 49 runs before a short ball from Thomas Aspinwall hit Singh on the glove and carried through to wicketkeeper Horton, who took an outstanding one-handed catch.

The wicket brought India captain Dhull to the crease and he shared a 46-run partnership with Rasheed, before Sales removed them both in quick succession.

Rasheed was the first to go, inexplicably slogging Sales straight up in the air after reaching his half-century, with Rew taking the catch.

Dhull then pulled a catch straight to Bell at deep backward square, with the wicket leaving India 97-4 with two new batters at the crease.

India captain Yash Dhull fell to James Sales for 17 (Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

It provided a glimmer of hope for England, but Sindhu and star all-rounder Bawa shared a substantial 67-run partnership to guide their side closer to victory.

When Bawa fell to Boyden for 35, India needed just 26 more runs to win and 42 balls to get them in.

England did their best to ramp up the pressure on new man Tambe and it worked, with Ahmed taking a great catch at backward point to send him packing for one.

Bana then joined Sindhu at the crease with 14 runs needed off 22 balls and the pair safely saw India home, with Sindhu reaching his half-century and Bana striking the winning runs with back-to-back sixes.

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