A staggering century from 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fired India to ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup glory as they overcame England by 100 runs in the final. , recording the highest individual score in the history of finals in this competition. Captain Ayush Mhatre (53) and wicketkeeper Abhigyan Kundu (40) also made valuable contributions as India racked up 411 for nine. England made a promising start in reply but a middle order collapse proved costly, with Caleb Falconer’s brilliant 115 in vain as India completed a record-extending sixth ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup triumph.
“I can’t express what I am feeling but the way we have all been working hard for the last 7-8 months and our support staff who have been with us for a long time and always made sure we are alright, I would like to dedicate the award to them,” Sooryavanshi said at the presentation ceremony. “For the last eight to nine months, the support staff and the team have been working together. That preparation has played a huge role in getting us to where we are today,” he added.
“I am very happy that Vaibhav played really well. All the boys played really well right through the tournament. And in the final, Vaibhav played a historic innings. We feel very proud. The whole country is happy and celebrating. I am sure he will play for India one day, with all the hard work he is putting in,” Vaibhav’s father Sanjeev Sooryavanshi told ANI.
India’s sixth men’s U19 World Cup triumph, to go with two out of two titles in U19 Women’s World Cup, reestablishes their status as the dominant force across age-group cricket. Australia, who were the defending champions before this edition, are next in the list with four wins to their name in 1988, 2002, 2010 and 2024.
Ayush Mhatre now adds his list to the names of five other captains who have guided India to the title: Mohammed Kaif (2000), Virat Kohli (2008), Unmukt Chand (2012), (2018), Yash Dhull (2022) were Mhatre’s predecessors.
1988: Australia (Defeated Pakistan in final)
1998: England (Defeated New Zealand in final)
2000: India (Defeated Sri Lanka in final)
2002: Australia (Defeated South Africa in final)
2004: Pakistan (Defeated West Indies in final)
2006: Pakistan (Defeated India in final)
2008: India (Defeated South Africa in final)
2010: Australia (Defeated Pakistan in final)
2012: India (Defeated Australia in final)
2014: South Africa (Defeated Pakistan in final)
2016: West Indies (Deefeated India in final)
2018: India (Defeated Australia in final)
2020: Bangladesh (Defeated India in final)
2022: India (Defeated England in final)
2024: Australia (Defeated India in final)
2026: India (Defeated England in final)
