U-19 World Cup: Cricket
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History
India in U19 World Cup finals
2000-2022
From: February 11, 2024: The Times of India
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India in U19 World Cup finals, 2000-2022
Stars who did well as seniors, and those who did not
As in 2024 Feb
Hindol Basu, February 9, 2024: The Times of India
India’s under-19 cricketers have once again reached the final of the World Cup. This Sunday in Benoni in South Africa, Uday Saharan and Co. will have the opportunity to lift the title one more time. Other than the skipper himself, players like Musheer Khan, Sachin Dhas, Arshin Kulkarni, Saumy Pandey and Naman Tiwari have also impressed.
This is the ninth time India’s junior cricketers have reached the final, a record. They’ve also triumphed five times, another record. Which ones will graduate to the big league from here? Which ones will disappear? The under-19 World Cup stage is a fascinating story of both stalwarts and also-rans…
THE ONES WHO MADE IT BIG
VIRAT KOHLI
The biggest contribution the U-19 World Cup has had on Indian cricket is the emergence of Virat Kohli. It was in 2008 that Virat led India to their second U-19 WC title in Malaysia, where his team defeated South Africa in the final. He was India’s second highest run-scorer (235 runs, avg. 47, SR 94.75) and the lone century-scorer. The sight of Virat running towards pacer Siddarth Kaul after the final South African wicket fell is etched in India’s cricket folklore.
YUVRAJ SINGH
In the first indication that he was ready for many match-winning exploits at the senior level, Yuvraj Singh helped India to their maiden U-19 World Cup title in 2000. The southpaw was a vital cog in the Mohammad Kaif-led side that defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in the final in Colombo. Yuvraj was Man of the Series, scoring 203 runs at an yet-unheard strike rate of 103.57. He also took 12 wickets with his left-arm spin and was the sixth highest wicket-taker.
VIRENDER SEHWAG
One of Indian cricket’s batting greats, Sehwag featured in the 1998 edition of the event in South Africa. More than his batting, Sehwag delivered with his off-spin, snaring seven wickets at a stingy economy-rate of 3.36. India didn’t make the final but Sehwag’s all-round skills got a lot of attention.
HARBHAJAN SINGH
Off-spinner Harbhajan also impressed in the 1998 edition, picking up eight wickets at an average of 21.12 and an economy rate of 3.44. Harbhajan had telling contributions in all five Indian victories. Soon after, Harbhajan made his Test debut for India against Australia in Bangalore.
ROHIT SHARMA
Batting at No. 3, India’s current captain hit three half-centuries in six innings at the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. He tallied 205 runs at an average of 41. India managed to reach the final but lost to Pakistan by 38 runs. He also shone with his off-spin, picking up four wickets.
RAVINDRA JADEJA
The ‘Rockstar’ allrounder was involved in two U-19 World Cups –in 2006, in which India lost in the final, and the other in 2008, when India won under Kohli’s leadership. In 2006, Jadeja played four matches, picked up four wickets and also made some handy contributions down the order. By 2008, he had improved dramatically and was one of the stars with the ball, taking 10 wickets in six games. He was Kohli’s go-to man, and in the final got two important middle-order wickets to derail South Africa’s chase of 160.
CHETESHWAR PUJARA
Very few would believe Cheteshwar Pujara once scored runs at a faster clip than Rohit Sharma. This happened in the 2006 U-19 World Cup when Pujara, opening the batting, notched up 349 runs in six innings at a strikerate of 82.11. In comparison, Rohit’s strikerate was 77.35. Pujara hit one century and two half-centuries to finish as the highest run-scorer. But he failed in the final and was out for nought as India collapsed for 71.
SHIKHAR DHAWAN
Right from his U-19 days, Shikhar Dhawan had a penchant for scoring big at ICC events. In the 2004 U-19 World Cup, he was the highest run-getter with 505 runs in seven innings. His best knock was a swashbuckling unbeaten 155 against Scotland, apart from two other centuries. Dhawan had to wait to play for the senior side, though.
SURESH RAINA
Another big name from the 2004 U-19 World Cup who went on to play at the senior level. Raina was India’s second-highest run-scorer after Dhawan, scoring 247 runs at an average of 35.28 and a strike-rate of 90.80, including three halfcenturies. His knocks in the middle-order came at a fast clip. Raina also picked up five wickets with his offspin and played a crucial role in breaking partnerships. India lost in the semifinal but the 2004 team was one of the best-ever.
RISHABH PANT
India’s march to the final of the 2016 edition in Bangladesh, where they lost to West Indies U-19, was on the back of some explosive batting from opener Pant, who scored 267 runs in six innings at 44.50 (SR 104.29), including a century and two half-centuries. He formed a deadly opening combination with another big-hitter and wicketkeeperbatsman, Ishan Kishan. Just one year later, Pant got his senior India breakthrough.
THOSE WHO FADED AWAY
UNMUKT CHAND
Captain of the 2012 U-19 World Cup-winning team, Unmukt scored a matchwinning century (111 off 130 balls) in the final against hosts Australia. His superb performance earned him high praise from the likes of Aussie legend Ian Chappell, who said Chand was ready for the big stage. He returned home to massive media glare, wrote a book titled ‘The Sky Is the Limit: My Journey to the World Cup’. But his bat stopped yielding runs at the domestic level and Chand just couldn’t convert his teenage stardom into meaningful performances. He has now moved to the USA to play in the Major League Cricket and hopes to represent America at the international stage.
ASHOK MENARIA
The stylish Udaipur-born southpaw captained the Indian team at the 2010 U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. That team had many players who went on to don national colours. The likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh and Jaydev Unadkat made it big, but not Menaria himself. He had a dismal tournament, scoring just 31 runs in five innings. It was one of the most disappointing U-19 World Cup campaigns as India finished sixth. Later, Menaria represented Rajasthan at the first-class level before a feud with the state board made him change states and move to Haryana.
VIJAY ZOL
Hailing from the small town of Jalna in Maharashtra, which had no cricket facilities to speak of, Zol first hit the headlines when he scored a monumental 451 in a Cooch Behar Trophy U-19 game in 2011. He went on to lead the team at the 2014 U-19 World Cup in the UAE, where India bowed out in the quarterfinals. His teammates Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson all went to play for the national team, but not Zol. He started his first-class career on a brilliant note, scoring a century on debut for India ‘A’ against New Zealand ‘A’. He then hit a double-century on Ranji debut for Maharashtra. He was also picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014, but everything went downhill thereafter. He has not played a single first-class match since 2019. Last year, Zol was controversially booked on charges of kidnapping and extortion in Aurangabad.
SANDEEP SHARMA
The wily medium-pacer from Punjab made everyone stand up and take notice when he swung the ball prodigiously during the 2012 edition in Australia. Sharma picked up 12 wickets from six matches at an average of 15.75 (ER 3.62). His best came in the final when his 4/54 restricted Australia to a below-par score of 225/8, which India scaled on the back of Unmukt Chand’s century. Sharma was signed by Kings XI Punjab ahead of the 2013 IPL season. He has also represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. At the first-class level, he has come up with decent performances. Sharma was rewarded with two T20I caps against Zimbabwe in 2015, but failed to deliver in those matches and was not selected again.
SIDDARTH KAUL
He was Virat Kohli’s trusted man in the pace department during the victorious 2008 U-19 campaign. Kaul picked up 10 wickets in five games at 15.40 (ER 4.27). He had made his first-class debut for Punjab even before the U-19 World Cup and was rewarded for his domestic performances with three ODIs and three T20Is in 2018-19. However, he couldn’t crack the code at the international stage and was subsequently dropped. He has, however, played for four different IPL teams.
OTHER NOTABLE U-19 SUCCESS STORIES: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, RP Singh, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel, Hanuma Vihari, Sanju Samson, Mohammad Kaif, Arshdeep Singh.
YEAR WISE DEVELOPMENTS
2018
India beats Australia
In domestic cricket Rishabh Pant scored the fastest century by an Indian
From: January 15, 2018: The Times of India
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India beat Australia in U-19 World Cup
In domestic cricket Rishabh Pant scored the fastest century by an Indian
How the Indians reached the finals
From January 31, 2018: The Times of India
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The Indian U-19 team’s journey to the World Cup finals
India’s key players
February 3, 2018: The Times of India
KEY PLAYERS FOR INDIA
PRITHVI SHAW
The Mumbai lad shot into prominence as a 14-year old when he smashed 546 off 330 balls in an inter-school match In September last year, at 17, Shaw became the youngest to score a century on Duleep Trophy debut, a record previously held by Sachin Tendulkar. The captain of India’s U-19 team, Shaw has been consistent as an opener and has led the side with maturity and balance. During the tournament, he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 1.2 crore at the IPL auction. Took two fine catches at gully during the semis against Pakistan.
Matches: 5, Runs: 232, HS: 94, Avg: 77.33, SR: 98.72.
SHUBMAN GILL
With 341 runs under his belt in five games, this Punjab batsman has been the topscorer for India in this World Cup. He has an uncanny similarity with India captain Virat Kohli in the way he plays his shots. Gill, who belongs to Chak Khere Wala village in Punjab’s Fazilka district, started wielding the willow at the age of four. His father Lakhwinder is a farmer and land owner. Shubman was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for a handsome Rs 1.8 crore in the IPL auction last Saturday. A consistently high-scorer in domestic age-group cricket, Gill will be a thorn in Australia’s side if he stays at the wicket for a while.
Matches: 5, Runs: 341, HS: 102*, Avg: 170.50, SR: 113.28.
KAMLESH NAGARKOTI
The speed-guns in New Zealand have been clocking Nagarkoti consistently at 145 plus, which is unheard of at this level. Nagarkoti has been one of the most talked-about teenagers in New Zealand over the last two weeks, with everyone from Ian Bishop to Sourav Ganguly raving about his raw pace, athleticism and attitude. The wiry right-arm pacer became the most expensive buy in the current U-19 team when he was bought by KKR in the 2018 IPL auction for Rs 3.2 crore. The Rajasthan pacer’s father was a subedar in the Indian Army who spent his retirement corpus to buy a one-bedroom apartment in Jaipur so his son could learn to play cricket.
Matches: 5, Wickets: 7, Best Bowling: 3-18, Avg: 15.14, Eco: 3.19
SHIVAM MAVI
Like his pace colleague Nagarkoti, Mavi caught the cricketing world’s attention when one of his deliveries touched 146kph on the speed gun, in India’s opening match against Australia. Has flattened the stumps of many batsmen, especially with the older ball, with his deadly yorker. Apparently, much like his idol, South African pace ace Dale Steyn, the lad from Noida hates being hit even in the nets. Interestingly, Mavi comes from an area near Meerut which is known to produce swing bowlers rather than genuine quicks.
Switched to Uttar Pradesh after being rejected by Delhi for their U-16 team.
Matches: 5, Wickets: 8, Best Bowling: 3-45, Avg: 15.50, Eco: 3.77.
ANUKUL ROY
This left-arm spinner hails from Samastipur, a small town in northern Bihar. After playing tennisball tournaments there, he moved to Jamshedpur in pursuit of serious cricket. Interestingly, he came into the World Cup straight out of legnthy period of injury rehabilitation. He bowled for hours together at India’s pre-tournament camp in Bengaluru. In a side packed with spinners (there are four others capable of bowling 10 overs), Roy has stood out by being the top wickettaker (12 scalps@7.91) for India. He is also handy with the bat. No wonder, his idol is Ravindra Jadeja.
Matches: 5, Wickets: 12, Best Bowling: 5-14, Avg: 7.91, Eco: 3.65.
Manjot century brings India its fourth WC
Aditya Bhattacharya, February 3, 2018: The Times of India
2000, 2008, 2012 and now 2018. India pulled off a sensational eight-wicket win over Australia in the big final of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup to become the only side in history to lift the coveted title for a record fourth time. A clinical bowling performance by India saw them restrict Australia to 216, a total that Prithvi Shaw and his men gunned down comfortably in the end - with 67 balls remaining - to etch their name in history books.
The platform for the big win was laid by, first, the bowlers, who staged a terrific comeback to remove the last six Australian wickets for just 33 runs, and later by opener Manjot Kalra, who struck a 101-ball century to lead India to victory. Kalra got vital partnerships going with each batsman he batted with - 71 with Shaw, 60 with Shubman Gill and an unbeaten 89 with Harvik Desai and formed the fulcrum around which the chase revolved.
Considering the kind of form India's batting was in, getting 217 was never going to be much of a hassle, and that's exactly how things panned out. Kalra and Shaw provided India a brisk start, putting on 71 inside 12 overs despite a slight intervention due to rain. Even as play resumed, the openers went about scoring at over six and saw through the first period. Shaw spanked thunderous back-to-back cover drives for four that brought up India's fifty in quick time.
Shaw's short but solid knock of 29 ended when he played down the wrong line to Will Sutherland and was bowled. But there was nothing stopping Kalra, who inflicted a brutal carnage on Australia. Once he tonked Zak Evans for a six off a free hit, the left-hander looked in complete control of his innings. He brought up his fifty off 47 balls. The impact of his knock can be gauged by the fact that his partners - Shaw and Gill seemed content playing second fiddle. He played shots all round the ground and smoked three colossal sixes during his knock.
2024
India Makes Fifth Consecutive Final
February 7, 2024: The Times of India
From: February 7, 2024: The Times of India
Benoni : Fuelled by splendid fifties from Sachin Dhas and captain Uday Saharan, defending champions India battled past South Africa by two wickets to storm into the final, their fifth consecutive and ninth overall, of the ICC U-19 World Cup.
Dhas (96; 95 balls, 11x4, 1x6) and Saharan (81; 124b, 6x4), who were India’s guiding forces in the last match against Nepal with a hundred each, garnered 171 runs for the fifth wicket as India hunted down the target of 245 with just 7 balls to spare. India will face either Australia or Pakistan in the summit clash to be played, searching for their sixth trophy in the marquee event.
But the beginning of India’s chase was a disaster as they lost four wickets for just 32 runs in the 12th over. The South African newball bowler Kwena Maphaka jolted India in the first ball of their innings, dismissing Adarsh Singh with a nasty climbing delivery that the batter had no choice other than snicking to wicketkeeper Lhuan-dre Pretorious.
His partner Tristan Luus soon joined the fun with the wickets of Musheer Khan, Arshin Kulkarni and Priyanshu Moliya. All three India batters were indecisive outside the off-stump and hung their bats out to dry. The Indians found their saviours in Dhas and Saharan, who dished out innings of vastly contrasting nature and tempo. Dhas was aggressive despite the situation his team was in while Saharan was happy to keep his end going.
Dhas’ knock was a treatise on playing cross-batted shots as he cracked a six, pulled fours besides those well-placed nudges through the vacant spots on the on-side. Saharan, on the other hand, was more traditional but was not entirely hesitant to bring out an exquisite drive or rasping cut whenever an opportunity was there for him to do so.
Dhas reached his fifty in 47 balls, fittingly with a pull off pacer Riley Norton. Saharan reached his half-century in 88 balls with a cover drive off offspinner Juan James. These two youngsters showed immense maturity and did not squander the start they got, piling up runs to keep the pressure squarely on the hosts.
A second hundred in this event was there for the taking for Dhul, but Maphaka, the tournament’s highest wicket-taker so far, deceived him with a slower ball that the batter managed only to scoop to David Teeger at cover.
The breakthrough, however, came a wee bit late as India hung on to squeeze past the line, notwithstanding the run out of Saharan when scores were level.
Earlier, bowlers played a significant part in shaping India’s victory, limiting 2014 champions South Africa to 244/7 on a pitch that offered considerable assistance. SA found fight through wicketkeeper batter Lhuan-dre and Richard Seletswane after early blows, but those efforts were not enough to rattle the visitors. Pretorious and Seletswane milked 72 runs for the third wicket but they took nearly 22 overs for that.
The South African top-order just could not get going against pacers Naman Tiwari (1/52) and Raj Limbani (3/60), who found ap- preciable pace, bounce and carry from the Willowmoore track. Even when Seletswane and Pretorious were reconstructing the SA innings, they failed to score at a brisk pace, as the run-rate for a large part remained under four. Left-arm spinners Saumey Pandey and Musheer Khan (2/43), along with off-spinner Priyanshu Moliya, shackled the host batters’ progress in this phase, bowling a tidy line and length. Pretorious, who tried to bring in some momentum hammering Moliya for a six over mid-wicket, departed just as the alliance began to blossom. The left-hander, who made his third successive fifty in this event, wanted to cart Musheer over mid-wicket but a leaping Murugan Abhishek held on to a stunner to end his stay.
James (24 off 19 balls) and Luus helped SA amass 81 runs off the last 10 overs but that was not enough to stop the Indians. PTI
India’s road to the final
From: February 11, 2024: The Times of India
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India’s road to the final, 2024
India’s top performers in the league matches
From: February 11, 2024: The Times of India
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India’s top performers in the league matches, 2024
