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The Under-19 World Cup was held in Asia for the third time in a row, with Malaysia becoming the first Associate Nation to host an ICC tournament of this magnitude. The matches were spread across venues in Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang.
With the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) knocking on the doors, there was much at stake for the Indian teenagers participating in this tournament. With the second leg of the auction coming up, the Under-19 cricketers also had an opportunity to earn lucrative contracts with the IPL franchises.
At the helm of the Indian side was a 19-year-old boy from Delhi, Virat Kohli, who had already made a mark in domestic cricket. Ravindra Jadeja, who had played in the 2006 edition, was Kohli’s deputy in the tournament.
Kane Williamson, then 17, was leading a strong New Zealand side. Australia, too, had a good side that comprised an 18-year-old leg-spinner all-rounder, Steven Smith. Little did the boys know that all three of them would go on to rule the batting in senior cricket in the next decade.
Pakistan and South Africa also had good sides, led by Imad Wasim and Wayne Parnell, respectively.
Pakistan topped Group A, while New Zealand came second. India comfortably dominated Group B, with South Africa finishing next. An unbeaten Sri Lanka and Australia qualified from Group C, while Bangladesh clinched a thriller against England to top Group D. Bangladesh were 49/7 at one stage before their captain Sohrawardi Shuvo struck an unbeaten fifty to help them add another 100. England fell 13 runs short.
This was a low-scoring tournament, and the trend continued in the quarter-finals too. India comfortably beat England by seven wickets. South Africa routed Bangladesh by 201 runs, bowling them out for 41 inside 12 overs, captain Parnell finishing with 6-8.
New Zealand comfortably beat Sri Lanka, while Australia’s run came to an end in the hands of defending champions Pakistan. The overall team batting average in the quarter-finals were less than 18.
India clashed against New Zealand in the semi-finals. Kohli emerged as India’s main bowler, with 2-27, which included the wicket of Williamson. Corey Anderson’s 70 took New Zealand to 205 before Tim Southee built inroads in the Indian line-up. In a rain-curtailed match, Indian opener-wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami slammed 84 in 76 balls to keep India in the hunt. Despite a flurry of wickets at the end, Saurabh Tiwary’s unbeaten 29 saw India through to their second final in a row.
In the years to follow, Kohli, Southee, Williamson, Jadeja and Trent Boult shared numerous riveting contests. In a reversal of fortunes, Williamson led New Zealand to a win against Kohli’s India in the 2019 men’s ODI World Cup and two years later in the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
Despite Imad’s 3-44, South Africa raced to 260, courtesy of fifties in the top order from J.J. Smuts, Rilee Rossouw, and Jonathan Vandier, and a late flourish from Reeza Hendricks. Barring Ahmed Shehzad (60), none of the batters stood up against the South African attack. The defending champions bowed out after being bowled out for 153.
The South African bowling continued to dominate against India in the final. Tanmay Srivastava top-scored with 46 as India folded for 159. Rain curtailed the South African innings, and when the game resumed, they needed 99 in 98 balls. The Indians sneaked out a 13-run nervy win to lay hands on the youth World Cup for the second time.
Kohli made a massive mark as a captain across formats in the years to follow. However, the Under-19 World Cup remains his solitary ICC tournament win as a captain.
For the third time in a row, an Indian – Srivastava – topped the run charts. Shikhar Dhawan (2004) and Cheteshwar Pujara (2006) had topped run-charts earlier.
Already a New Zealand international by then, Southee was named Player of the Tournament for exceptional skills with ball. Less than a month later, he was playing Test cricket. Meanwhile, several Indian Under-19 cricketers bagged IPL contracts. Kohli was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as an Under-19 player. He remains their most-valued cricketer till date.
West Indies beat Nepal in the Plate Final a day before the tournament final.
Semi-final 1: New Zealand 205/8 in 50 overs (Corey Anderson 70; Virat Kohli 2-27) beat India 191/7 in 41.3 overs (Shreevats Goswami 51; Tim Southee 4-29) by three wickets with nine balls remaining (D/L method).
Semi-final 2: South Africa 260/8 in 50 overs (J.J. Smuts 58; Imad Wasim 3-44) beat Pakistan 153 in 39.3 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 60; Yaseen Vallie 4-25) by 98 runs (D/L method).
Final: India 159 in 45.4 overs (Tanmay Srivastava 46; Wayne Parnell 2-21) beat South Africa 103/8 in 25 overs (Reeza Hendricks 35; Ajitesh Argal 2-7) by 12 runs (DLS method).
Most runs: Tanmay Srivastava (India, 262), Kieran Powell (West Indies, 253), Virat Kohli (India, 235)
Most wickets: Wayne Parnell (South Africa, 18 wickets), Tim Southee (New Zealand, 17 wickets)
Player of the Tournament: Tim Southee.
Future stars:
Australia: Phil Hughes, James Faulkner, Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson, Marcus Stoinis, Steven Smith
Bangladesh: Rubel Hossain
England: Steven Finn, James Taylor, Chris Woakes
India: Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Manish Pandey
Ireland: Andy Balbirnie, Stuart Poynter, Paul Stirling
Namibia: Raymond van Schoor, Pikky Ya France
Nepal: Paras Khadka, Gyanendra Malla
New Zealand: Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee
Pakistan: Imad Wasim, Shan Masood, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal
Papua New Guinea: Tony Ura, Charles Amini
South Africa: Wayne Parnell, Reeza Hendricks, Rilee Rossouw
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne
West Indies: Darren Bravo
Zimbabwe: Kyle Jarvis