Revision as of 06:01, 5 February 2018

U-19 World Cup

India beats Australia

India beat Australia in U-19 World Cup
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

The Indian U-19 team’s journey to the World Cup 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.