It was nearly two decades ago when Pakistan edged out India narrowly in the ICC Under-19 World Cup at Colombo to script history. They are the first team to win the tournament in a row. The 2006 win played a major part in cementing their positions as youth cricket’s powerhouse.
The final that took place on February 19 became a low-scoring thriller where Pakistan went on to defend 109 runs. Under the banner of Sarfaraz Ahmed, the team exhibited its wonderful bowling attack and bowled out Men in Blue for just 71 runs.
Many of the players from Pakistan’s victorious Under-19 World Cup-brewed team have been promoted to the senior game in subsequent years. This made the win sound so important for shaping the future of Pakistan cricket.
India entered the final after defeating England in the semifinals. The team was captained by Ravikant Shukla who had set his eyes on ensuring India’s second U19 World at the R Premadasa Stadium. A fifty-over match began on this day with Pakistan winning the toss and electing to bat first.
Pakistan’s top order failed to show up with the willow as they were bowled out for 109. Top scorer in the innings for Pakistan was Rameez Raja, putting 25 runs on the board.
Nasir Jamshed followed his fellow batter with 18 runs. The Indian spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla did the majority of the damage on the bowling front. Jadeja scalped three and Chawla four Pakistani batters; Rohit Sharma, Yo Mahesh and Mohnish Parmar contributed with a wicket each.
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What practically ensured the young Indian squad’s lifting of the trophy was the modest total of 110 runs. Despite a shaky start where opener Gaurav Dhiman was bowled off the very first ball of the innings by Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Jamshed Ahmed, it was going all well on track. The trouble worsened as Cheteshwar Pujara fell for a duck to Anwar Ali’s very first ball, plunging India into an early crisis.
Rohit Sharma was the next man to go, bowled by Jamshed Ahmed. Pakistan’s exceptional bowling continued for the next half an hour, during which Debabrata Das was caught and bowled, reducing India to 9 for 6. The final stand was made by Piyush Chawla and Pinal Shah, who showed some resilience and helped India reach beyond the 60-run mark.
With the Men in Blue looking to crawl to about 110 runs, Ayub Akhtar turned the tables once more and bowled out Shah. He finished with Mohnish Parma to seal a 38-run win.
