ICC Under-19 World Cup Final 2018 Inida vs Australia at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

It’s finally over. The Under 19 tournament which eventually started from 13^th of January has ended on a very bright note today. Why Bright??? This is because India has clinched a comfortable victory in the finals against mighty Australia. India has easily won by eight wickets by chasing the score of 216. Manjot Kalra is the man who did for the young bunch of Team India today making a superb century of 101 not out in 102 balls and ensure that India went passed the score with over 11 overs remaining. A mighty performance of team India and the truly deserving candidate for the 4^th Under 19 World Cup Trophy, most by any team so far.

The under 19 Cricket World Cup for India is an immense platform for the plethora of young Indian players to showcase their talents and get selected to play for the Indian national side. Many young dynamic players who showcased their talents in the under 19 World Cups, have not only got selected to play for Indian team but some of them have also become legends including the likes of Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, Ravinder Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh and many more. The young teenage groups of Team India have also performed exceptionally well over the years in this tournament. India has now won 4 world cups in Under 19 World Cup which is the highest ever in Under 19 World Cup..

This year, it was no different from the part of Team India. Under the aggressive leadership of the young and dynamic Prithvi Shaw and the coach ship of the legend Rahul Dravid, Team India has really roared their way in the finals with every match being pretty much a one-sided affair, including the final where they thrashed Australia for an impressive 8 wickets victory with nearly 11 over to spare.

Let us have a look at Team India’s performance in every match of this year’s Under 19 World Cup-

Match 1 –India V/s Australia (India Won by 100 runs) – Right from the first match, the tone for a successful tournament was set by India with a massive win. With Indian captain, Prithvi Shaw leading from the front with 94 off 100 balls, and his opening partner Manjot Kalra, who made a terrific 86 off 99 put up a huge total of 328 on board. The Australians had no answer with the strong young pace attack of India and bundled up for 228 giving a huge win of 100 runs in the very first match for India that too with a strong team. Mavi (3/45) and Nagarkoti (3/29) demolished Australia.

Match 2- India V/s Papua New Guinea (India won by 10 wickets) – A relatively weaker side, India just made fun of Papua New Guinea. They bowled the team for 64 and chased the score in just 6.5 over with 10 wickets to spare.  Anukul Roy the spinner was the man of the match for the excellent returns of 5/14.

Match 3- India V/s Zimbabwe, (India Won by 10 wickets) – India thrashed yet another weaker opponent Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in their last group league matches. Zimbabwe was bowled out for 155 with Anukul Roy yet again leading the wickets column with the figures of 4/20, was easily chased down by India with just over 20 over.

Match 4 India V/s Bangladesh, (India won by 131 runs) – Indian captains Prithvi Shaw (40), Subham Gill (86) were the main contributors for India in the quarterfinals against Bangladesh, posting a total of 265. In reply, Bangladesh never looked to fight in the match and was bowled out for 134 runs.

Match 5 India V/s Pakistan (India won by 203 runs) – The much-anticipated semifinals against the arch-rivals Pakistan too went out as a one-sided affair. With India posting 272 for the loss of nine wickets, thanks to the outstanding century of Shubman Gill, India bowled out Pakistan for just 69 runs giving them a huge victory of 203 runs.

So, as an Indian fan, it is the time to cheer and celebrate. These young bunches have done it again with the great guidance of the great Rahul Dravid. It’s now sure that many players from this Under 19 Indian Team is going to represent the national Senior Indian Side and going to be legends in future.