Young Tigers eye history

Following a dream run in the ICC Under-19 World Cup that has seen Bangladesh reach the final of the flagship event for the first time, the youngsters will be eyeing history as they try to clinch the title against defending champions India in the final in Potchefstroom today. The match is scheduled to start at 2:00pm BST.

Under skipper Akbar Ali, the young Tigers have been clinical throughout the tournament in all three departments. But with both sides contesting the final unbeaten so far, it will be an interesting battle when they lock horns.

Bangladesh reached their maiden final by beating New Zealand in the semifinal by six wickets, courtesy of a magnificent hundred from Mahmudul Hasan Joy.

On the other hand, India, led by skipper Priyam Garg who has marshalled his troops with great authority, will be looking to retain the title and register a record fifth Under-19 World Cup win.

The last time the sides met at the Under-19 World Cup was in 2018, with India defeating Bangladesh in the quarterfinal. In fact, the Bangladesh U-19s have won just one game in their past seven encounters against their Indian counterparts since the previous World Cup while India have registered four wins. The other two matches were abandoned.

Bangladesh will also have to overcome a mental block as the young Tigers lost two close encounters in the 2018 and 2019 Asia Cup finals against India by two and five runs respectively.

Meanwhile the weather in South Africa is not in the best of moods and the forecast suggest heavy rain today and also on the reserve day tomorrow. According to the tournament by-laws, the World Cup will be shared if both days are eventually washed out.