India U-19 Coach Rahul Dravid Gesture Wows Pak’s U-19 Coach Nadeem Khan
India U-19 cricket team shaped an extraordinary performance in the final of ICC U-19 World Cup against Australia. Prithvi Shaw-led Boys in Blue created history by winning a record fourth title, beating Australia by eight wickets in the World Cup finals in New Zealand. A special achievement by Indian team is it is unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Ishan Porel, Shiva Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkotti, Anukul Roy and Shivam Mavi were among the wicket-takers – as Australia were bowled out for 216. That was never going to be enough against a strong Indian batting line-up. Chasing a modest 217, India romped home to lift a record fourth World Cup thanks to Manjot Kalra’s brilliant hundred.
The BCCI and Coach Rahul Dravid were overwhelmed with the players and their outstanding performance throughout the tournament.
India’s U-19 team began the tournament against the heavyweights Australia in the group stage. However, following that India had a considerably easier fixture against PNG, where they cruised and crushed the opponents to a ten-wicket victory.
In the following game, India faced the African opponents Zimbabwe, who were dismissed for a score of 154 with Anukul Roy picking up four wickets for 20 runs.
Bangladesh and South Africa were in the way of India meeting Pakistan in the semi-finals of the tournament. India and Pakistan both dismissed their quarter-finals opponents in prime fashion to set up a date in the second semi-finals of the tournament.
In the semi-finals, it was Shubman Gill who came up with a breathtaking century, ending up on 102* off just 94 deliveries. Pakistan in reply was dismissed to a total of under 70 runs, as their dreams of reaching the finals of the tournament vanished into thin air.
Pakistan’s head coach Nadeem Khan was quick to appreciate the efforts of the Indian coach Rahul Dravid following their humiliating loss. Pakistan’s coach revealed that the former Indian batsman walked out to the Pakistan dressing room to boost the morale of the opponent players.
“It was a very nice gesture only confirming Dravid’s stature in our eyes,” Nadeem said before he admitted that a lot of work needed to be done to improve youth cricket in Pakistan.