Kuala Lumpur: India colts take on South Africa in the final of the Under-19 World Cup on Sunday.
India last won the Under-19 World Cup under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif eight years ago in Sri Lanka with Yuvraj Singh bagging the Man of the Series award in that tournament.
So far it has been a near flawless tournament for India with five wins in five games. While some have been easy; others have been made possible by grit and resolve.
"Expectation to logon ko bahut hai. Sab yehi keh rahe hain ki jeet ke ana hai jab final tak pahuche hain. To dabaaw yehi hai ki accha khelne ki puri koshish karenge aur apna last effort hai. 100 per cent dene ki puri koshish karenge (There is a lot of expectation. Every won is telling us to win the final. The pressure is on us to give our best. We will try our best and give our 100 per cent," says left-hand batsman Tanmay Srivastava.
But the talismanic influence in the team has been skipper Virat Kohli. Virat has been leading with panache and batting with the maturity of a hardened veteran.
He has made 216 runs at an average of 54 and even picked up four wickets with his off-breaks.
India's opponents in the final won't be pushovers though. South Africa creamed two-time defending champions Pakistan in the semi-final and bring the traditional qualities of a South African team into battle. They have penetrative fast bowling, robust batting and a never say die attitude in the field.
"I think that it would be easy beating India in the final rather than the pool games. There is more pressure obviously with under 19s. It is a young age. Maybe one or two mistakes and then we can capitalise on that," hopes South Africa Under-19 team skipper Wayne Parnell.
India's juniors know the headlines await them on a day they share the limelight with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men – the men they aspire to be.
Comments
0 comment