What if the U19 World Cup Final is washed out?

After three weeks of riveting action, the U19 World Cup in South Africa is set to witness the grand finale on Sunday, February 9. At the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, India and Bangladesh are scheduled to lock horns for the bragging rights in U19 cricket for the next couple of years. The last time these two sides met in an U19 World Cup was in the 2018 quarter-final where India won.

It will be the first U19 World Cup final for the Junior Tigers, captained by Akbar Ali. On the other hand, Dhruv’s Boys in Blue will be stepping out to defend their title. However, prior to the all-important clash, the weather forecast isn’t something promising. There are chances of heavy rain on Sunday. Even on the reserve day on Monday, February 10, the heavens may open up.

In case, both the days are washed out, India and Bangladesh will share the World Cup. There have been a few games affected by rain in the ongoing mega event and rain playing spoilsport in the Final can’t be ruled out completely. India are currently unbeaten in the championship. They dominated Group A, beating New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Japan without dropping much sweat.

India and Bangladesh dominate

They topped the group with a net run rate of +3.598. In the semi-final against Australia, Jurel and Co found themselves in a fair amount of trouble. But the Boys in Blue came back to win by 74 runs and set up a semi-final clash with arch-rivals Pakistan. In the semis, Yashasvi Jaiswal stepped. The left-hander churned out a century and guided his team to a 10-wicket victory over Rohail Nazir and Co.

As far as the Tigers are concerned, they haven’t floundered. Akbar and Co started with thumping wins over Zimbabwe and Scotland. But Pakistan got them on the mat in their last group match. Nevertheless, rain made sure that that game didn’t have a result and Bangladesh topped the group.

In the quarter-final, the Tigers beat South Africa by 104 runs. In the semis, Mahmudul Hasan Joy racked up a century and helped his team, script glory by six wickets. Over the last few months, India and Bangladesh have been involved in some close matches and an exciting final seems to be in store.