The ICC Under-19Cricket World Cup is all set to begin on January 14, with India expected to be the favorites in a tournament where they have won two and reached the final twice in the last decade.
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The ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup is all set to begin on January 2022. It is a tournament that has been dominated by the Indian cricket team. There have been 13 editions of the tournament since 1988, with India winning four. Their first tournament win was in 2000. It was then followed by the triumph of 2008 which saw Virat Kohli emerge as one of the greatest in the world. In the last decade, India has dominated the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In the last five editions, India has won two in 2012 and 2018 and reached the final in the other two in 2016 and 2020.
Heading into the tournament in the West Indies, the Indian cricket team will be determined to overcome the hurt in the finals which they suffered in 2016 and 2020. Here is a look back at the Indian cricket team’s success in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in the last five editions.
The 2012 edition of the Under-19 World Cup had some future stars in Unmukt Chand and Sandeep Sharma. India was placed in a group involving West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Papua New Guinea. India started the tournament poorly as they lost by four wickets to the West Indies. But, big wins against Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea got them into the quarterfinals.
In a low-scoring quarterfinal against Pakistan, India managed to pull off a one-wicket win in a thrilling fashion. In that match, Pakistan’s future sensation Babar Azam scored a brilliant 50 in tough conditions. But, Baba Aparajith and Sandeep Sharma fashioned a brilliant win. India then overcame spirited resistance from New Zealand to win by nine runs. Prashant Chopra was the top scorer with 52. India reached the final against hosts Australia. Sandeep Sharma took 4/54 but the star of the show was skipper Unmukt Chand. His 111* included five sixes and his partnership with Smit Patel helped India create history after a gap of six years.
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The 2014 edition of the tournament saw India come as the defending champions and favorites. In the league matches, they dominated. India defeated Pakistan thanks to a brilliant 74 from Sarfaraz Khan. But, in the remaining matches against Scotland and Papua New Guinea, Kuldeep Yadav was the star with a hat-trick and 4/10. India reached the quarterfinal where they were slated to play England.
India dominated the early proceedings with Deepak Hooda smashing 68 and Sarfaraz hammering 52. Kuldeep Yadav pegged England back with three wickets. But, in a total shock, Ben Duckett blasted 61 and guided by Rob Jones’ 28, England won by three wickets.
In the fifth-place play-off against Sri Lanka, Deepak Hooda’s splendid all-round show gave them a consolation win. Hooda blasted 76 off 56 balls and took 3/31 as India won by 76 runs.
India were placed with Nepal, New Zealand and Ireland in Group D. They dominated the league stages again, with Sarfaraz Khan and Mahipal Lomror dominating. Lomror, who would later play for Rajasthan Royals, took 5/47 in India’s epic win against New Zealand. The tournament also had future stars like Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant. Pant, in particular, showed his brilliance with a blazing 78 off 24 balls against Nepal.
In the quarterfinal against Namibia, Pant was in superb touch as he blasted 111 off 96 balls to give his side a 197-run win. During the semi-final clash against Sri Lanka, Anmolpreet Singh hit 72 and gave India a comfortable win. Heading into the final, they were the favorites. But, the West Indies were enjoying a superb year.
On a green deck, Alzarri Joseph and Ryan John took three wickets apiece to dismiss India for 145. Only Sarfaraz was the top scorer with 51. Mayank Dagar bowled well to take 3/25. Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan also bowled with tremendous hostility. But, in the end, Keacy Carty’s 51 and Keemo Paul’s 40 gave West Indies a thrilling five-wicket win. This was their first win in the ICC Under-19 World Cup.
Under the guidance of Rahul Dravid, India was in fine form in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. India had a strong batting and bowling line-up, with Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, and Manjot Kalra in the ranks. The bowling consisted of Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi who were in top form.
In the very first match, they made a big statement. Prithvi Shaw’s 94 and Nagarkoti’s three wickets helped India beat Australia by 100 runs. Anukul Roy took 5/14 to bowl out Papua New Guinea for 64 as India won by 10 wickets. India completed yet another 10-wicket drubbing of Zimbabwe, with Shubman Gill scoring 90.
During the knock-out stages, India continued to dominate. Gill’s 86 gave India a thumping 131-run win against Bangladesh. Gill was in fine form as he thumped a century in the semifinal against Pakistan. But, Ishan Porel’s 4/17 bowled Pakistan out for 69, giving India a massive 203-run win. India registered glory in the final when Manjot Kalra smashed a century and gave India a big eight-wicket win. It was a dominating performance right from the outset by this Indian team.
The 2020 edition of the tournament was held in South Africa. India was once again deemed the favorites. The league stages went smoothly, with India trouncing Sri Lanka by 90 runs thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 59. In the game against debutants Japan, Ravi Bishnoi took 4/5 to bowl them out for 41. Rain played spoilsport in their last league game but Jaiswal’s 57* helped India win on the DLS method.
In the quarterfinal, India continued their domination of Australia with a 74-run win. Jaiswal and Kartik Tyagi were the stars in that win. The semi-final saw total dominance from India as Jaiswal blasted a century to help his side beat arch-rivals Pakistan by 10 wickets. In the final, they were slated to meet Bangladesh.
In a match filled with immense tension and hostility, Bangladesh got under India’s skin. Avishek Das and the rest of the bowlers took wickets at regular intervals. Jaiswal was the only player to stand tall among the ruins with 88. India was set a target of 178. Ravi Bishnoi was in top form with 4/30. The hostilities between India and Bangladesh reached a fever pitch, with players from both sides clashing.
Akbar Ali held his cool when the rain break saw the target being revised to 170 in 47 overs. The Bangladesh skipper calmly guided his side over the line to create history. Bangladesh had won an ICC event for the first time and it was a turning point in their sport.
