'We have done that at U-19 level but at this World Cup, I don't have any words to describe the feeling back home.'
Former Pakistan batsman and current Under-19 head coach Ejaz Ahmed feels that his side can beat defending champions and arch-rivals India in the forthcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup, beginning in South Africa on January 17. Ejaz, who has played 60 Test and 250 ODIs, was head coach of the Pakistan Emerging side which beat India before eventually winning the title in Bangladesh last year.
India's amazing track record and an unbeaten run in the tournament makes coach Rahul Dravid's boys overwhelming favourites to defeat the West Indies in the final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in Mirpur on Sunday. India is on a 15-match winning streak since losing to England in the quarter-final of the previous edition in the United Arab Emirates two years ago. It has won 20 of its 21 one-day matches since January 2014. In the current tournament, India breezed through Group D with an all-win record against New Zealand, Nepal and Ireland, before crushing Namibia by 197 runs in the quarter-final and Sri Lanka by 97 runs in the semi-final. However, past achievements alone don't guarantee success in sport and the West Indies has done enough in the tournament so far to suggest it can go on to win its maiden title in the competition.
Having been a pillar of support for Afghanistan cricket for close to a decade now, the BCCI is set to extend infrastructure and exposure-related assistance to Nepal's talented players with the aim to maintain a robust cricketing eco-system in the South Asian region.
Cricket greats Rahul Dravid, Michael Atherton and Graeme Smith are looking forward to the ICC U-19 World Cup, saying the tournament gives the young players the chance to test themselves against the best in their age group. The 11th edition of the tournament will be played across four cities in Bangladesh from January 27 to February 14 and features nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members - Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland. Dravid, a veteran of 164 Tests and 344 one-day internationals with more than 10,000 runs in both forms, lauded the tournament even though he himself never participated in one. He was 15 when the inaugural event was held in 1988 and had already become a Test cricketer when it was next played in 1998. "It is a great opportunity for young players to be able to get exposure to the demands of international cricket," said Dravid, who will coach the India Colts side at the tournament.
Hasan Mahmud grabbed the spotlight with a three-wicket burst in the first session, which rocked a famed batting line-up comprising heavyweights Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill.
Skipper Amarjit Singh opened the scoring in the 74th minute, Abhishek Halder doubled the lead in the 80th and Edmund completed the tally with a strike in the 92nd as India dominated the proceedings for the better part of the game.
Musheer Khan did the right thing by imitating his prolific older brother Sarfaraz for everything linked to cricket.
The Indians expectedly dominated the Under-19 World Cup team announced by the ICC on Sunday, with five players from the triumphant side making it to the world eleven.
Indian colts lost wickets in a heap towards the end of the innings as the U-19 Asia Cup final against Pakistan ended in a thrilling tie as both countries shared honours at the Kinrara Academy Oval, in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Four-time champions India will back themselves to reach their third successive final at the U-19 World Cup when they face arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-finals, in Potchefstroom, on Tuesday. Both teams go into the last four clash unbeaten. While India beat Australia in the quarter-finals, Pakistan outplayed Afghanistan.
The odds will be stacked heavily in favour of India when the title contenders, with an eye on securing a knockout berth, meet minnows Papua New Guinea in the ICC U-19 World Cup, in Mount Maunganui, on Tuesday.
All-rounder Connor Sully played a pivotal role in Australia's thrilling two-wicket win over England in a pulsating Group B match of the ICC U-19 World Cup, in Kimberly, on Thursday. He took two wickets and later smashed a crucial 35 as Australia first restricted England to 252 for 7 and then overhauled the target with the last ball of the match at the Diamond Oval.
All-rounder Gerhard Erasmus will lead Namibia in the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in the Americas next month.
Proteas pacer Kwena Maphaka re-wrote the history books after South Africa's U-19 World Cup campaign concluded following their defeat in the semi-final against India.
Defending champions India were today knocked out of the U-19 Asia Cup after suffering a shocking eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Playing for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare competition in October, 17-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 203 off 154 balls, which included 12 sixes and 17 fours against a Jharkhand attack that included out-of-favour India pacer Varun Aaron and Shahbaz Nadeem.
There is no shortcut to playing first-class cricket.
Following their crushing 203-run victory against Pakistan in the semi-final of the Under-19 World Cup on Tuesday, the victorious Indian team celebrated the win with their fans at the Hagley Oval, in Christchurch.
Interestingly, all 10 batters were dismissed in a similar fashion as they were all bowled with Wayanad's VJ Joshitha picking up a hat-trick.
An alumni of the prestigious Cornell University and a senior techie (coder) at Oracle, Netravalkar juggled academics and cricket with aplomb.
Paras Mhambrey's men were an all-conquering force in 2019, winning the Under-19 Asia Cup in September and a Tri-Nations tournament with England and Bangladesh held on English soil. They have not lost a bilateral series since the 2017 Under-19 World Cup, beating South Africa, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan away from home. Among potential breakout stars is southpaw opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who became the youngest cricketer in the world to score a List A double century in October in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Shafali Verma emerged from a recent slump in batting form with a bang, smashing a record-breaking 205 against South Africa on the opening day of the one-off Test
Gautam Dasgupta said that the tournament would help teams prepare for next year's U-19 World Cup
Defending champions Mumbai got their Ranji Trophy campaign back on track with an emphatic nine-wicket win over Maharashtra in their second group A league game in Mumbai on Monday, offsetting the heavy loss to Baroda in the opening game.
First-time qualifier at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, Afghanistan, produced a clinical performance in Christchurch on Tuesday when it defeated Hong Kong by eight wickets for its first-ever victory in any World Cup finals.
Australian pace bowling sensation Pat Cummins and talented West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite are the two Test cricketers who feature in the list of provisional squads announced by their respective countries for the U-19 World Cup which will be held in August in Australia and New Zealand.
The Super League semi-finals will be the first matches in the tournament to make use of a third umpire.
Indian women's team began their AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers round one campaign on a winning note as they defeated Bangladesh 1-0 in their opening match at Melaka in Malaysia on Sunday.
On a day his team posted a convincing win in the first Test against New Zealand, captain of the senior team Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not forget to congratulate the India colts for winning the Under-19 World Cup.
Saurabh Netravalkar stunned tournament favourites Pakistan in a thrilling encounter.
'His focus is like that only, he will give his 100 per cent in whatever he takes up, be it studying or be it playing cricket.'
Opener Shweta Sherawat smashed an unbeaten fifty after Parshavi Chopra's triple strike as India notched up a comprehensive eight-wicket win over New Zealand to storm into the final.
'We played since childhood in U-15, U-17. It felt like we carried on from where we left off.'
Arshin Kulkarni starred with both bat and ball to enable India prevail over Afghanistan
The junior Tendulkar returned with figures of five for 98 against Delhi in an Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy match in New Delhi.
It turned out to be a dream tournament for India as the boys the medals, winning a gold, silver and bronze, in the U-19 category in the prestigious British Junior Open.
Tributes also poured in from across the border with former Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar hailing Dhawan's hard work and other qualities.
A stunning spell of leg spin bowling by Parshavi Chopra led India to an emphatic seven-wicket triumph over Sri Lanka in their second Super Six match in the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup.
Uday Saharan plays copybook, conventional cricket, his style which has so far given India dividends.
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