India wins Under-19 World Cup

By Francis Saldanha, Bahrain
Bellevision Media Network

27 August 2012: India Under-19 lifted their third World Cup title after beating formidable defending champions Australia by six wickets in the final on Sunday. Unmukt Chand led India to World Cup glory at Tony Ireland Stadium, his unbeaten century ensuring his side saved its best batting performance for when it counted most, pulling off the highest successful chase at this venue to beat defending champions Australia in the final. Chand, who was ably supported by Baba Aparajith and Smit Patel, secured India’s third Under-19 world title, after triumphs in 2000 and 2008.

An unbeaten 111 by Unmukt and his unbroken partnership of 130 runs with wicket keeper Smit Patel, India overhauled a competitive target of 226 on a bouncy strip with 14 balls to spare. Chand and Patel shared an unbroken century stand for the fifth wicket, after India had slipped from 75 for 1 to 97 for 4. At no stage of the chase did they let the asking rate climb too far over the boundary, and several huge hits on the home stretch ensured the target was achieved in the 48th over.

India’s route to the World Cup final has been bumpy. When they left for Brisbane they lost opener Manan Vohra and seamer Mohsin Sayyed to injuries. And once they began their campaign, their batsmen struggled on the tough pitches in Townsville but, to varying degrees, so have the batsmen of every other team. They’ve had to fight hard for all of their victories, which were narrower than some of the margins might suggest.

 

 

The Chand-Aparajith partnership had produced 73 when Aparajith was caught on the drive by Turner at extra cover, two balls after he had driven Sandhu for another sublime four. Turner made another quick breakthrough, catching Hanuma Vihari off his own bowling for 4. As Vijay Zol walked in, Chand went up to him, had a chat and patted him on the back, but he edged to Pierson for 1 off 14balls. India was suddenly 97 for 4. They would have been five down had Peirson held a tough chance off Chand in the 19th over, when he was on 38. Patel was let off by Peirson too, on 2, and he made Australia pay.

Patel was the cool partner that Chand needed and the two batsmen focused on keeping wickets in hand for the end game, finding the boundary occasionally but taking singles and two frequently. The asking rate touched six an over for the first time when there were 17 left; India needed 102 and they had the batting Power play to come. In the final over of fielding restrictions, Chand heaved Turner for perhaps the biggest six hit at Tony Ireland Stadium during this tournament. It nearly went on to the road beyond the midwicket boundary.

 

 

 

 

The equation had boiled down to 49 off 41, and then Chand chipped Gregory straight to midwicket, where Bosisto dropped a sitter. Three balls later, Chand launched Gregory over the straight boundary, a blow that was bound to have broken Australia. He hit another six off Gregory, his fifth of six, over cover to bring up his century and stayed on to finish the job
Earlier, India frittered away the early advantage as defending champions Australia recovered from a shaky start to post a competitive 225 for 8. Electing to field after winning the toss Indians had the Aussies on the mat at 38 for 4 before host skipper William Bosisto (87 not out) rebuilt the innings with the help of some notable contributions down the order from Tavis Head (37) and Ashton Turner.

 

Colts ’veteran’ Sandeep Sharma who got four for 54 was the most successful bowler.

 

Both teams named the same XIs that had got them through the knockouts. While Australia, aiming for a fourth title, entered the final undefeated, India had lost one game in the first group stage to the West Indies.

India reached the Finals because of their grit & determination to win. They played as a Team first & as individuals next. Not all the batsmen contributed consistently. The Bowlers pulled out the victory when needed because of their grit. Their wins against Pakistan & NZ were too close to call but showed the character of the team. This young Indian team has superstars in Chand & Zol who did not exactly burn the track. But the next lot of batsmen like Chopra, Aparajith rose to the occasion.

world champions now at the junior level too nothing sweeter than beating the Aussies in the final and also in their own back yard .Whoever say that future of Indian cricket  is not very bright will have to think twice! Unmukht Chand is just the big match player, in a final third in a row first the quadrangular series then Asia cup and now the world cup. There are many in this team, who can play for the senior team but they should see how tough it was for Virat Kohli initially to come to the highest level but if they work hard like him they can be as good as him. It was a great game of cricket. Unmukt Chand the skipper who led from the front. Beating Australia in Australia in the final of a World Cup is a huge achievement. This is a great moment for India. For now it is party time for Indian cricket fans in India and abroad.