Harare
India Under-19 captain Ayush Mhatre won the toss and elected to bat first against England Under-19 in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026 at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.
India are chasing a record sixth Under-19 World Cup title, having last lifted the trophy in 2022. The summit clash marks India’s 10th appearance in a U19 World Cup final, underlining their dominance at the junior level.
England, led by Thomas Rew, are eyeing their second Under-19 World Cup crown, with their only previous triumph coming in 1998. This is England’s third appearance in a U19 World Cup final.
Both teams have enjoyed an unbeaten run throughout the tournament. India sealed their spot in the final with a commanding seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the semifinal, while England booked their berth by defeating arch-rivals Australia by 27 runs.
India scripted history in the semifinal by registering the highest successful run chase in Under-19 World Cup history, overhauling a target of 311 against Afghanistan. Aaron George starred with a brilliant 115, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and skipper Ayush Mhatre chipped in with crucial half-centuries to guide the team home.
England, meanwhile, rode on a match-winning century from captain Thomas Rew, who scored 110 in the semifinal against Australia. Their bowlers then held their nerve to restrict the chase, despite a valiant century from Australia captain Oliver Peake.
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Playing XIs:
India Under-19:
Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre (c), Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran.
England Under-19:
Ben Dawkins, Joseph Moores, Ben Mayes, Thomas Rew (wk/c), Caleb Falconer, Ralphie Albert, Farhan Ahmed, Sebastian Morgan, James Minto, Manny Lumsden, Alex Green.
