The Aryavarth Express
Harare [Zimbabwe]: India Under-19 captain Ayush Mhatre won the toss and elected to bat first in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026 final against England at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.
India are chasing their sixth U19 World Cup title, having last lifted the trophy in 2022, and this marks their 10th appearance in a U19 final. England, led by Thomas Rew, are aiming for their second title, their first coming 28 years ago in 1998, making this their third final overall.
Both teams have remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. India secured a thrilling seven-wicket semifinal win over Afghanistan, successfully chasing a record 311-run target. Aaron George’s 115, alongside fifties from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and skipper Mhatre, powered the Men in Blue to victory. England, meanwhile, edged past arch-rivals Australia by 27 runs in their semifinal, with captain Thomas Rew’s 110-run innings setting up the win.
Playing XI for the Final:
India U19: 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 U19: Ben Dawkins, Joseph Moores, Ben Mayes, Thomas Rew (wk/c), Caleb Falconer, Ralphie Albert, Farhan Ahmed, Sebastian Morgan, James Minto, Manny Lumsden, Alex Green.
The stage is set for a high-voltage final as both teams aim to cap off their undefeated campaigns with the championship.
