PM Modi congratulates Indian team for for winning U19 cup

India clinched the U-19 Cricket World Cup title for the fifth time after beating England  by four wickets in the summit clash  on Saturday in Antigua. It was during the wee hours of Sunday at home that India were crowned world champions, emerging supreme in their ninth final across 14 editions. Chandigarh boy Raj Angad Bawa  shone with the ball with a sensational fiver (5/31) to help India shot England out for 189 before hitting a valuable 35 down the order to help India chase down the target of 190 with 2.2 overs to spare. Half-centuries from Nishant Sindhu and Shaik Rasheed ensured India got over the line.

India are the 2022 ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup champions

They beat England by four wickets in the #U19CWC final #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/e4uhN2Pbqb

— ICC (@ICC) February 5, 2022

England were the happier side after winning the toss as Dhull had also wanted to bat first in Antigua; however, the cheer in English camp didn't last long as Ravi Kumar - who finished with four wickets himself - struck twice within the first three overs - removing danger man Jacob Bethell (2) and captain Prest (0) cheaply. England failed to recover from early blows as George Thomas (27) gave away a strong start. James Rew (95) held fort at one end even as wickets continued to tumble at the other.

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the Indian team for their historic triumph at the ICC U19 World Cup 2022 in Antigua. in his tweet on Sunday, PM Modi said that he was proud of India's young cricketers.

Extremely proud of our young cricketers. Congratulations to the Indian team for winning the ICC U19 World Cup. They have shown great fortitude through the tournament. Their stellar performance at the highest level shows that the future of Indian cricket is in safe and able hands.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2022

Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Jai Shah announced a Rs 40 lakh reward for every player of the U-19 winning team. Shah also said that every member of the support staff will be getting INR 25 lakh.

This is an exceptional feat, given the fact that the Indian players had battled Covid-19, and as a result of which they were forced to a depleted team in two group matches. They lost high-profile players, including captain Dhull and still managed to remain unbeaten. And once the boys recovered, there was no looking back. A fully-strengthened Indian team ran roughshod over their opponents - South Africa, Ireland, Uganda, Bangladesh, Australia, and now England.