DUBAI: 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. India on Saturday lifted a record fourth U-19 World Cup trophy after an eight-wicket rout of Australia in the final at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand, underlining their dominant run in the tournament. The world team has the top three of the Indian batting line-up -- captain Prithvi Shaw (261 runs), player of the final Manjot Kalra (252 runs) and player of the tournament Shubman Gill (372 runs). Left-arm spinner Anukul Roy (14 wickets) and fast bowler Kamlesh Nagarkoti (9 wickets) are the other Indians named in the world team.
The team of the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup was picked by a five-person selection panel that comprised former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop, former India women's captain Anjum Chopra, former New Zealand captain Jeff Crowe, journalist Shashank Kishore and former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody. South Africa captain Raynard van Tonder was named to lead the side which has representation from six countries. Van Tonder, who aggregated 348 runs in six matches including a highest score of 143 against Kenya, was selected to lead ahead of other captains for his better cricket acumen, the ICC said in a statement. South Africa went out of reckoning for the title with a three-wicket loss to Pakistan in the quarter-finals but finished fifth beating Bangladesh by eight wickets in a play- off, which saw Tonder knocking an unbeaten 82. Apart from van Tonder, the other South Africa players making the team are wicket-keeper Wandile Makwetu and fast bowler Gerald Coetzee. Makwetu had 11 victims during the tournament besides some useful runs while fast bowler Gerald Coetzee finished with eight wickets. New Zealand batsman Finn Allen was rewarded for a consistent run which saw him get 338 runs while Pakistan's left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (12 wickets) and Afghanistan leg-spinner Qais Ahmad (14 wickets) are the ones in the playing eleven. West Indies batsman Alick Athanaze was named the 12th man after finishing as the highest run-getter in the tournament with 418 runs, which included centuries against Sri Lanka and Kenya. The ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Team (in batting order): Prithvi Shaw (India), Manjot Kalra (India), Shubman Gill (India), Finn Allen (New Zealand), Raynard van Tonder (South Africa, captain), Wandile Makwetu (wicket-keeper) (South Africa), Anukul Roy (India), Kamlesh Nagarkoti (India), Gerald Coetzee (South Africa), Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan), Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan). 12th man: Alick Athanaze (West Indies).
In a repeat of the 2012 edition, three-time champions India and Australia will aim to outplay each other when they face off in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup at the Bay Oval here on Saturday. Fresh from a 203-run thrashing of Pakistan in the semi-final, India set their date with Australia, who had comfortably defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in the battle of the last four. While both sides have been impressive throughout the tournament, India will believe they have edge, being the only unbeaten side in the competition. Furthermore, Australia's only defeat -- by 100 runs -- came against India in their tournament opener. The Group B fixture saw India's top-order batting fire excellently, with openers Prithvi Shaw (94) and Manjot Khalra (86) putting on an opening stand of 180. India made an imposing 328/7 from their 50 overs before their bowlers dismissed the Australians for 228 to secure a 100-run win. Since then, Australia have been ruthless, beating Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, England and Afghanistan, with their bowling attack taking the full 10 wickets in each match. Along with beating Australia in the first game, India have defeated Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Going into the final on Saturday, all eyes will be on India's stellar batting line-up led by the skipper Prithvi and the likes of Shubhman Gill, who has been the most consistent batsman in the tournament averaging 170. Shubman blasted 102 from 94 balls to bat Pakistan out in the semi-final and add to his scores of 63, 90 not out and 86. In the bowling department, fast bowlers Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Ishan Porel will have their work cut out against a strong Australian batting line-up.
Abhishek Sharma is another important player in the squad and he will, along with other spinners, look to aggravate Australian batsmen's weaknesses against spin. Abhishek is also a hard-hitting lower middle order batsman, who can score some quick runs at the end of the innings. On the other hand, Australia can boast of leg-spinner Lloyd Pope, who took 8/35 -- the best U19 World Cup figures of all time -- to hand the team a brilliant win over England en-route the semi-finals. Australia's batting will revolve around the likes of skipper Jason Sangha, Jack Edwards and Nathan McSweeney. India previously won the Cup in 2000, 2008 (under Virat Kohli, now the captain of the senior team) and 2012. Squads: Australia: Jason Sangha (Captain), Will Sutherland, Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Jack Edwards, Zak Evans, Jarrod Freeman, Ryan Hadley, Baxter Holt, Nathan McSweeney, Jonathan Merlo, Lloyd Pope, Jason Ralston, Param Uppal, Austin Waugh. India: Prithvi Shaw (Captain), Shubman Gill, Aryan Juyal, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Harvik Desai, Manjot Kalra, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Pankaj Yadav, Riyan Parag, Ishan Porel, Himanshu Rana, Anukul Roy, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh.
Queenstown: Three-time champions India beat Bangladesh by a comfortable 131-run margin to enter the semi- final of the ICC U-19 World Cup, here today. Batting first, India scored 265 in 49.2 overs with Shubhamn Gill scoring 86 and Abhishek Sharma contributing 50. Skipper Prithvi Shaw (40) and Harvik Desai (34) also chipped in with useful runs.
In reply, Bangladesh were all-out for 134 in 42.1 overs with Kamlesh Nagarkoti taking 3 for 18 in 7.1 overs. For Bangladesh only Pinak Ghosh top-scored with 43. Brief Scores: India U-19 265 in 49.2 overs (Shubhman Gill 86, Abhishek Sharma 50, Prithvi Shaw 40) beat Bangladesh 134 in 42.1 overs (Pinak Ghosh 43, Kamlesh Nagarkoti 3/18 in 7.1 overs, Abhishek Sharma 2/11, shivam Mavi 2/27).
Christchurch :Afghanistan produced a superb all-round effort to stun New Zealand by 202 runs in a Super League quarter-final at the ICC U19 World Cup here on Thursday. Opting to bat first, Afghanistan rode on half-centuries from Rahmanullah, Ibrahim Zadran, Baheer Shah and Azmatullah to post a challenging total of 309/6 in their 50 overs. Mujeeb Zadranand Qais Ahmadthen claimed four wickets each as the Afghans bundled out New Zealand for a meagre 107 runs in 28.1 overs. Zadran returned figures of 4/14 while Ahmad claimed 4/33. Afghanistan will meet former champions Australia in the semi-finals.
The Afghan innings was off to an excellent start as Rahmanullah and Zadran put on an opening partnership of 117 runs in 20.4 overs. This was the biggest opening stand for Afghanistan at the U-19 level. Pacer Sandeep Patel struck the first blow for New Zealand when he bowled Rahmanullah in the 21st over. Rahmanullah scored 69 runs off 67 balls with seven boundaries and three sixes. When left-arm spinner Felix Murray pulled off a stunning caught and bowled effort in the 24th over to send back Ikram Ali Khil, it seemed like the Kiwis had brought the situation under control. But Shah joined Zadran in the middle and the duo proceeded to add 47 runs between them. Zadran posted a patient innings of 68 runs off 98 balls while Shah remained unbeaten on 67 off 72 deliveries. Patel proved to be the partnership breaker once again when he sent Zadran back to the pavilion. The fall of another couple of wickets seemed to have stalled the Afghans' momentum. But a quickfire 66 off just 23 balls by Azmatullah Omarzai and his 79-run stand with Shah helped the Afghans to a big total. Omarzai's innings was studded with three boundaries and seven sixes. In reply, the Kiwis never really managed to get their run chase going as they lost wickets at regular intervals. The Afghans struck early blows to reduce the hosts to 20/4 in the seventh over. The only bright spot of the Kiwi innings was a 66-run stand between Dale Phillips and Katene Clarke, who made the Afghans wait for almost 19 overs for their fifth wicket. Clarke was the highest scorer for New Zealand with 38 runs off 56 balls while Phillips scored 31 runs off 32 deliveries. But once Phillips was trapped leg before by Ahmed in the 20th over, it was virtually all over for the Kiwis. Brief scores: Afghanistan: 309/6 in 50 overs (Rahmanullah 69, Ibrahim Zadran 68, Baheer Shah 67 not out, Azmatullah Omarzai 66; Sandeep Patel 2/13) vs New Zealand: 107 in 28.1 overs (Katene Clarke 38, Dale Phillips 31; Mujeeb Zadran 4/14, Qais Ahmad 4/33).
MOUNT MAUNGANUI: Optimism mingled with an eagerness to know what lies ahead as India's potential future stars geared up to lock horns with Australia in their big-ticket campaign opener of the ICC U-19 World Cup on Sunday. Coached by the distinguished Rahul Dravid, there is no dearth of talent in the squad, and the former India captain's sprightly boys would have got acclimatised to the conditions by now having arrived many days prior to the start of the tournament. India are three-time champions, the last triumph coming in 2014. While Dravid, who has been at the helm of U-19 and India A squad for some time, may not like to focus on individuals, it is very difficult to not see the likes of skipper Prithvi Shaw as the vital cog in the team's batting wheel. Alongside Shaw, who has created ripples with his exploits in the domestic circuit for Mumbai, there is Himanshu Rana, who has also amassed plenty of runs in Youth ODIs. Punjab's Shubhman Gill at number three is one of the most exciting young batsmen going around, and with a few impressive first-class games this Ranji Trophy season, he will have gained in confidence.
The top-order's performance is likely to be crucial to India's chances in the tournament. The middle-order is likely to be manned by Anukul Roy and Abhishek Sharma, and they would certainly want to make their presence felt. Another exciting name doing the rounds is Bengal pacer Ishan Porel. With Mohammed Shami rarely turning up for his state team owing to national commitments, Porel has caught the eye in the limited opportunities that came his way. Porel is set to spearhead the pace attack and he could be complemented by Shivam Mavi, who will be aided by the seaming conditions in this part of the world. Mavi attracted the attention of the selectors after his performance in the zonal level 'Challengers' tournament where he bagged nine wickets in four matches. His right-arm fast-medium bowling helped India whitewash England in England last year. Shaw said he is happy with the team's preparations. "We've been here a week now, played a couple of games. Everything has gone well, the preparation of the team has been good. Our goal is obviously to win the World Cup but at the same time we are looking forward to our first game," he said. Asked if there are any Indian players in particular he thinks could have a lot of success at this tournament, Dravid said: "We don't like to focus too much on the individuals. We believe we've got a very good squad together and the opportunities for us to play well as a team are there." "We've been playing some very good cricket of late, so rather than focusing on individuals and naming a few people, at this age we really believe that every one of these kids is talented. "...They've got the ability to go on and do well in this tournament, and not only in this tournament but also to go on and play professional cricket and do well there." In the last edition of the tournament in 2016, India finished runner-up after losing to the West Indies in the final. Like his counterpart from India, Australia captain Jason Sangha has also made a mark in the domestic scene and adding to the tournament flavor will be the son of Steve Waugh, Austin. Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland's son Will is also in the national squad.
