ICC Under-19 World Cup 2018 was the 12th edition of the tournament, with New Zealand being the host for a record third time.
India’s campaign in 2016 had received great mileage once they hired a cricketer of Rahul Dravid’s repute as coach. They did not win the title, but Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar had already played for India by 2018, while Ishan Kishan was in the national selection fray.
Dravid had convinced the BCCI to bar the same set of cricketers from participating in multiple editions of the Under-19 World Cup. Now, with him as coach, a strong Indian contingent led by teenage prodigy Prithvi Shaw left for the New Zealand shores.
Shaw, then 18, had already been knocking on the national selection doors, while Shubman Gill was not too far behind. There was already a buzz if this teenager could make it to the Indian line-up for the 2019 ODI World Cup.
During the same time, the senior Indian side were competing hard against a solid South African side at the latter’s den. They won the Test at Johannesburg with pace as its main force. By fast-tracking Jasprit Bumrah to the Test side, the team management led by Virat Kohli had made its focus on pace clear.
Under-19 cricket is a crucial cog of the supply chain of talent for any national side. In days to come, it was evident that the strategy of the team management of the youth Indian side was in synch with the senior team’s vision.
If the Indian side wore a powerful look, hosts New Zealand had players who seemed ready for the big stage, but their cricketers had limited exposure to First-class cricket. Star teens like Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra were yet to play First-Class cricket, Shaw and Gill were blazing away in domestic red-ball cricket.
New Zealand secured convincing wins over West Indies, Kenya and South Africa to top Group A, as did India in Group B and England in Group C. Group D was a closely contested affair after Afghanistan beat Pakistan but lost to Ireland. Eventually Pakistan and Afghanistan qualified for the quarter-final.
Though England and New Zealand had won the same number of matches as India in the group stage, the latter looked in a different league in terms of overall strength. To support a strong batting line-up, they had fast bowlers Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, both of whom clocked 90 mph at will. Spin-bowling all-rounder Anukul Roy seemed ready for international cricket as well.
England’s unbeaten run in the tournament ended in the quarter-final after Australian leg-spinner Lloyd Pope (8-35) registered the best bowling figures in an Under-19 World Cup match. Chasing 128, England were bowled out for 96.
Pakistan beat South Africa by three wickets, while New Zealand were done by the 16-year-old Afghan duo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (69) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (4-14).
Gill’s 86 powered India to the semi-final, securing a 131-run victory over Bangladesh.
The Afghan youths outdid many expectations, but Australia ended their run with a six-wicket win in the semi-final, at Christchurch. The next day, at the same venue, India and Pakistan met for the most-awaited clash of the tournament.
Though India started well, they lost the plot in the middle overs. Banking on his sublime form, Gill held the Indian innings and guided them to 272.
The tall Bengal pacer Ishan Porel had missed out most of the matches due to an injury and watched his fellow pacers Mavi and Nagarkoti wreak havoc on the oppositions. Not wanting to be left behind, Porel now took four wickets to help destroy Pakistani for 69.
In the months to follow, India’s senior team would make a statement with pace. And during the Under-19 World Cup, the fraternity was left spell bounded with India’s exceptional pace attack at this level.
A week after the tournament, I interviewed Alan Wilkins in Hong Kong for CricketCountry, who could not stop praising the Indian young kids. Wilkins was there that day: “[India] was head and shoulders the best team there. Manjot Kalra, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, and, of course, Ishan Porel was there. Weren’t they exceptional? Well captained by Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Dravid has to be credited for instilling a sense of responsibility in all of those players. By far distance, they were the best side in the tournament. They absolutely dominated the final.
“When you look at the New Zealand side, not a single player had First-class experience. No one. A couple of South African guys had First-Class experience. In contrast, Prithvi Shaw has five First-Class hundreds. The likes of Porel [Bengal] and Gill [Punjab] have contributed well for their domestic sides. It reflects well on BCCI for blooding young players in domestic competitions. Most of the Indian Under-19 cricketers were so well prepared mentally as well as skill-wise.
“The cupboard of Indian fast bowlers is so full. I remember the era when Javagal Srinath bore the brunt of Indian fast bowling, and then came Venkatesh Prasad. You just had one or two quality pacers, and then the support pacers like Sourav Ganguly chipping in and doing his bit. Compare it to now. Gosh, you have got four to five outstanding fast bowlers and then these (Under-19 boys) coming through.”
As Wilkins said, the difference was quite evident in the tournament final. The pacers and spinners combined to bowl out Australia for 216. The chase was relatively smooth, with Kalra getting an unbeaten 101 off 102 balls. A comfortable eight-wicket win made India the only side with four U-19 title wins.
Scoring 372 runs at 124, at a strike rate of over 112, Gill was named Player of the Tournament. Later that year, Shaw made his Test debut. A few months later, Gill played limited-overs cricket for India. Players like Abhishek Sharma, Mavi and Nagarkoti have made names in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Semi-final 1: Afghanistan 181 in 48 overs (Ikram Alikhil 80; Jonathan Merlo 4-24) lost to Australia 182/4 in 37.3 overs (Jack Edwards 72; Qais Ahmed 2-35) by 6 wickets with 75 balls to spare.
Semi-final 2: India 272/9 in 50 overs (Shubman Gill 102*; Muhammad Musa 4-67) beat Pakistan 69 in 29.3 overs (Rohail Nazir 18; Ishan Porel 4-17) by 203 runs.
Final: Australia 216 in 47.2 overs (Jonathan Merlo 76; Ishan Porel 2-30) lost to India 220/2 in 38.5 overs (Manjot Kalra 101*; Will Sutherland 1-36) by 8 wickets with 67 balls to spare.
Most runs: Alick Athanaze (West Indies, 418), Shubman Gill (India, 372), Raynard van Tonder (South Africa, 348).
Most wickets: Anukul Roy (India, 14), Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan. 14), Faisal Jamkhandi (Canada, 14).
Player of the Tournament: Shubman Gill (India)
Future stars:
Afghanistan: Naveen-ul-Haq, Qais Ahmad, Ikram Alikhil, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Zahir Khan, Wafadar Momand, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Bangladesh: Mohammad Naim, Aminul Islam, Saif Hassan, Nayeem Hasan, Afif Hossain
England: Tom Banton
India: Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill
Ireland: Harry Tector, Josh Little, Neil Rock
Namibia: Ben Shikongo, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra
Pakistan: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Muhammad Musa
Sri Lanka: Kamindu Mendis, Praveen Jayawickrama
Zimbabwe: Dion Myers, Wesley Madhavere