India and England will face each other in the U-19 World Cup final on Saturday (February 5). India advanced to the final after beating Australia by 96 runs, and England had emerged victorious over Afghanistan by 15 runs (DLS) in the semi-final.
India will be playing their fourth consecutive U19 World Cup final and skipper Yash Dhull has an opportunity to lead India to their fifth title. On the other hand, England managed to reach the final for the first time since 1998, when they had won the tournament.
The India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, modern great Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Mithali Raj were among the ones who sent their best wishes to the junior team ahead of the final.
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Tendulkar posted a video and said that "champions always don't have the best of everything but they make the best of everything that they have". He recalled their discussion in the 2011 World Cup final and revealed how they dealt with the pressure of expectations.
“To our India U19 team who are playing the World Cup in West Indies, very well done. You have played some amazing cricket in spite of so many challenges. I know there were a few players who had tested positive for Covid-19 and couldn't participate in the playing XI but remember, champions don't have the best of everything, they make the best if everything the have. Wasn't this the moment you have been waiting for. This is the time to go out and be yourself and express yourself," he said.
“I remember the 2011 World Cup, which we were playing in India, during one of our discussions in the camp, on how to deal with expectations and pressure and the solution there was one billion people are with us and not sitting on top of our head.
"Because the direction of the force and pressure is important. If it is moving forward, it will propel you forward towards the target. If it presses you down then you will sink slowly. I want to wish you all the best, you out and give your best," Tendulkar added.
2008 U19 World Cup-winning captain, Kohli too wished the team good luck. “Best wishes to our U-19 boys for the World Cup final,” he tweeted.
Here are the other tweets:
