For the second time, the ICC Under-19 World Cup was played in the subcontinent, with Bangladesh making their debut as hosts. The tournament also had a debutant among the 16 nations, with Uganda making it to the big stage.
India registered the then highest score in Youth ODIs, slamming 425 against Scotland in their tournament opener. Shikhar Dhawan (155*) and Robin Uthappa (97) shared a 175-run opening stand before Suresh Raina blazed his way to a 38-ball 90. Riding on Dhawan’s exceptional form, India topped Group C, winning every match, against Scotland, Bangladesh and New Zealand.
The only other side that remained unbeaten in the group stage was Pakistan, who beat West Indies, Ireland and Papua New Guinea.
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India topped Group 1 despite their defeat against South Africa in the opening game of the next round. They beat West Indies and Sri Lanka. The match against Sri Lanka witnessed Dhawan registering his third hundred of the tournament, still the record for joint-most hundreds in a single edition. England’s Jack Burnham equalled the record in 2016.
The win against India remained South Africa’s only one in this stage. India and West Indies qualified for the semi-final.
Pakistan and England dominated Group 2. England clinched a five-run thriller against Pakistan in the clash for the table-topper spot. Future England stars Alastair Cook (87) and Tim Bresnan (3-33) set up the win.
Wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik led India in the semi-final against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dhaka. The Pakistan bowlers, in unison, dismantled the strong line-up for 169 and managed a five-wicket win.
England’s good run was brought to an end by a heroic 72 from West Indies wicketkeeper-captain Denesh Ramdin. Cook and Bresnan’s efforts could not prevent an English defeat.
In 2002, Ricky Ponting leapfrogged Adam Gilchrist to Australian captaincy. Two years had passed since then, but the world was not yet familiar with the name of M.S. Dhoni. Therefore, appointing a wicketkeeper as the captain was not a very popular thought. The semi-final saw two such instances.
Pakistan and West Indies met for the second time in the tournament, this time in the final. Chasing 231, West Indies were 69/0 in the 13th over before the pandemonium struck. They lost wickets at regular intervals, and there were three run outs as they folded for 205, handing Pakistan their first-ever Under-19 World Cup.
For the second time in their cricketing chronicles, Pakistan laid a hand on a global trophy after the senior team’s remarkable triumph in 1992.
Dhawan’s 505 runs in the tournament remains a record for most runs in a single edition of a Under-19 World Cup. He was named Player of the Tournament. Next on the list was another left-hander – Cook, with 383 runs. Dhawan’s feat was remarkable because his runs came at a strike rate of 93.5, while Cook’s at 75. Remember, this was still the 2000s. Only nine out of the 26 batters with over 200 runs achieved so at a strike rate of over 80.
Hosts Bangladesh had a significant cricketing moment when they beat Australia in the Plate Final. Ireland also put up a brave show, ending their campaign in the Plate semi-finals. A 17-year-old Eoin Morgan top-scored for them.
The tournament was undoubtedly laden with future stars. Most surprisingly, no one from the champion Pakistan side went on to make a big name in international cricket. Fawad Alam, who did not even made 100 runs in the tournament, is finally having his moment at the international arena.
Semi-final 1: India 169 in 47.3 overs (Robin Uthappa 33; Sulaman Qadir 2-27) lost to Pakistan 171/5 in 44.5 overs (Tariq Mahmood 45*; R.P. Singh 2-25) by 5 wickets with 31 balls to spare.
Semi-final 2: West Indies 249/6 in 50 overs (Denesh Ramdin 72; Adam Harrison 3-28) beat England 155 in 39.1 overs (Tim Bresnan 41; Ravi Rampaul 3-27) by 94 runs.
Final: Pakistan 230/9 in 50 overs (Asif Iqbal 54; Rishi Bachan 3-34) beat West Indies 205 in 47.1 overs (Denesh Ramdin 36; Tariq Mahmood 3-34) by 25 runs.
Most runs: Shikhar Dhawan (India, 505), Alastair Cook (England, 383), Xavier Marshall (West Indies, 331)
Most wickets: Enamul Haque Junior (Bangladesh, 22), Riaz Afridi (Pakistan, 19), Tariq Mahmood (Pakistan, 18)
Player of the Tournament: Shikhar Dhawan
Future stars:
Australia: Tim Paine, Moises Henriques, Steve O’Keefe
Bangladesh: Enamul Haque Jr, Aftab Ahmed, Shahadat Hossain
Canada: Umar Bhatti
England: Samit Patel, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Alastair Cook, Liam Plunkett, Luke Wright
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, R.P. Singh, Robin Uthappa
Ireland: William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin (Ireland and England Seniors), Gary Wilson, Eoin Morgan (Ireland and England Seniors)
Nepal: Shakti Gauchan, Paras Khadka, Basanta Regmi, Sharad Vesawkar
New Zealand: Anton Devcich, B.J. Watling
Pakistan: Fawad Alam, Wahab Riaz
Papua New Guinea: Chris Amini, Assad Vala
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer
South Africa: Vernon Philander, Roelof van der Merwe (South Africa and Netherlands Seniors)
Sri Lanka: Farveez Maharoof, Angelo Mathews, Suraj Randiv, Upul Tharanga
West Indies: Denesh Ramdin, Kirk Edwards, Xavier Marshall, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons
Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Colin de Grandhomme (New Zealand Seniors), Craig Ervine, Tinashe Panyangara, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams