Everything to play for in Colombo

Maybe it was meant to be, that these two teams would meet in the final. Pakistan have lived on the edge during the tournament, flirting with elimination more than once. At 80 for 5 against the Australians it appeared they were losing their grip on the trophy they won in Bangladesh two years ago. India have come up against few problems, easing through the quarter- and semi-finals. Now it is down to one match - winner takes all.

In truth, although an India-Australia final would have pitted the best two teams together, this is the final the tournament needed. The last two weeks have struggled to make an impact but all of a sudden people are interested. Even though the number of India-Pakistan clashes is now being controlled, following the recent indulgence in matches between the two at full level, this match-up is still hot property.

If Pakistan win they will become the first team to defend an Under-19 World Cup, but Mansoor Rana, Pakistan's coach, doesn't believe this pressure will affect his players. "Sometimes you can take the pressure negatively and sometimes you can take it as a positive," he said, "For any team to win the tournament pressure is always there. I don't think they show much of it, they are just playing normally."

However, he did say that the team was starting to appreciate what they are part of, especially with taking on India. "Maybe they are starting to realise the significance [after the semi-final win]. Playing against India does give you an extra edge, but when I played against them we were best of friends of the pitch."

Now all that is needed is a final to remember. The two semis were heavily one-sided, courtesy of England's demise for 58 and Australia's ultimate collapse for 124, and the danger is that the occasion could hit one team harder than the other - especially with the toss meaning a side can bat in the more comfortable daylight period.

Both sides have enviable strength in depth, as Pakistan amply demonstrated against Australia with Riaz Kail and Ali Asad bailing the side out of a hole. India have been less stretched in their progress, but their top order is immensely powerful, plus the bowling attack is varied and incisive.

However, with India having not been pushed to their limits it is unclear how they would react if their top order was blown away, something Jamshed Ahmed and Anwar Ali are eminently capable of doing.

Pakistan have made it to the final without their main batsmen ever really firing - there is copious amounts talent in the top five, it just needs a little more application, and Sunday is the last chance for them to shine. However, you sense that India are the team that have all their bases covered. They have performed at a consistently high level in all their matches and have been coached to not leave the job to anyone else.

India-Pakistan clashes are rarely uneventful so it's a case of expect the unexpected. But as Rana says: "At the end of the day it's just a game of cricket that brings people closer and happier." This is the game of a lifetime for these youngsters; let's hope they make the most of it.