With an aim to lift the title for the 5th time, India will square off against England in the final of the U-19 World Cup at Sir Viv Richards Stadium, Antigua, today (February 5). India have always been a strong force in Junior World Cups and were one of the strong contenders to lift the trophy this year.

The Yash Dhull-led side dominated the proceedings throughout the league stage and made it to the final with 5 back-to-back wins. While the junior team is receiving wishes from every Indian fan, a special wish came from former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain, Unmukt Chand.

Unmukt had led the junior side to a title win in the 2012 U-19 WC. The opening batsman had led the side from the front and remained unbeaten on 111 in the chase to the target of 226 in the final against Australia.

“Wishing lots of luck to our U19 champs. Let’s bring glory home one more time! @BCCI #U19CWC2022 #ENGvIND,” Ummukt has written on Twitter.

The former India A captain has now retired from Indian cricket and switched his base to the USA. He will be eligible to play for the USA in 2024.

Talking of today’s final, Team India is favourite to lift the title for the 5th time. Despite missing out on the services of many first-choice players, India have remained undefeated and are expected to go past England in the final.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been the go-to batsman for India and has scored 278 runs in five matches. His tally includes 1 century and a half-century. Raj Bawa has also been among runs and has 217 runs in his account.

With the ball, Vicky Ostwal has led from the front and dismissed 12 batsmen. Nishant Sidhu and Ravi Kumar have scalped 6 wickets each.

Other U-19 WC winning captains

Apart from Unmukt, Virat Kohli, Prithvi Shaw and Mohammad Kaif have led the junior team to a title win. Kaif led the team to the win in 2000 while Kohli propelled the team to title glory in 2008. Under Shaw, India defeated Australia in the final to lift the trophy in 2018.