India extend their dominance
A four-wicket win against England handed India their fifth Under-19 World Cup title. Previously, they had won in 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018. In all, they have made it to finals in eight of the 14 editions of the tournament, including each of the last four occasions. Four of India's five titles came while staying unbeaten through the tournament - 2000, 2008, 2018 and 2022. Only three other title-winning teams have finished unbeaten - Australia in 2002, South Africa in 2014 and Bangladesh in 2020.
Brevis' bumper tally
Dewald Brevis was on a run-making spree in the tournament, scoring 506 runs from six matches. These are the most runs scored by any batter in a single edition of the U-19 World Cup, eclipsing Shikhar Dhawan's 505 runs in 2004. Brevis scored 50 or more in five of the six innings, the joint-most by any player in a single edition. Brevis also set a new record for most sixes in an U-19 World Cup, with 18 sixes.
Qasim's unique feat
Qasim Akram produced a rare feat in the fifth-place play-off match against Sri Lanka, scoring an unbeaten hundred and following it with a five-wicket haul - the first to achieve this double in Youth ODIs. The Pakistan captain scored an unbeaten 135 off 80 balls, bringing up his hundred in only 63 balls, the fastest at the U-19 World Cup. Qasim later opened the bowling with his offspin and finished with 5 for 37 from his ten overs. His opening burst left Sri Lanka 15 for 4, and they were eventually bowled out for 127, succumbing to a 238-run defeat.
Leading from the front
Dunith Wellalage, the Sri Lankan captain, starred with all-round efforts in the tournament. He scored a match-winning hundred against South Africa in the Super League play-off game and a 52 against Australia to follow up his 5 for 28 in the same game. Wellalage's 264 runs in the tournament are the most for Sri Lanka and seventh-most by any player. He was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 17 wickets across six games, aided by successive five-wicket hauls in the group stage. Thomas Odoyo, in 1998, is the only other player with 250 runs and 15 wickets in an edition of the Under-19 World Cup.
A record spell in the final
Raj Bawa started the tournament with a four-wicket haul against South Africa but was wicketless in the next four matches. In between, he recorded the highest individual score of this edition, when he scored 162 not out against Uganda. But against England in the final, his 5 for 31 turned out to be the best bowling figures for any player in an U-19 World Cup final.
Early strikes by the Indian bowlers
The bowlers played a key role in India's success as no team reached the 200-run mark against them. No opening batter scored more than 30 against them in the tournament, and the highest opening partnership they conceded was only ten runs. The average partnership for the first wicket was against India in this tournament only 4.16 runs, the lowest for any bowling team in an edition of the Under-19 World Cup.
No ducks for England until the final
No England batter bagged a duck in the tournament until their captain Tom Preset dragged one onto his stumps off Ravi Kumar in the final against India. It was also the first time a captain was dismissed for a duck in an U-19 World Cup final. Two more England batters went without scoring in the final - George Bell and Thomas Aspinwall.