The big match of the ‘kids’ is upon us. It’s the U-19 ODI World Cup final and once again it involves the Indian boys.
Like Australia in senior-level cricket, it is the Indians who boss over the U-19 level when it comes to the World Cup. They will be playing for their record sixth title on Sunday in Benoni.
That their opponents are Australia makes the contest even more intriguing. A few months back, the senior Indian team fell face-first while trying to win the World Cup and were handed a thrashing by Pat Cummins’ men. Will the script repeat itself at the U-19 level? Or will the Indian colts avenge their seniors’ humiliation with an authoritative performance on Sunday?
On paper, the Indian team, led by Uday Saharan and with some fine performers in Sachin Dhas, Musheer Khan and Saumy Pandey, have it in them to outsmart the boys from Down Under. Saharan is leading the batting charts with 389 runs, Dhas has impressed with his finishing skills, Musheer, the younger brother of Sarafarz Khan, is second on the run-getters’ list, while left-arm spinner Pandey has 17 wickets to show so far in the tournament.
Sachin Dhas during the semi-final. Getty Images
But then, it’s a final and the famous Aussie nature of owning the big stage may just surprise the five-time champions.
The Australian team too have some fine players in skipper Hugh Weibgen, opener Harry Dixon and seamers Tom Straker and Callum Vidler. If Saharan and his colleagues are not alert, the quartet might steal the match away from India.
It’s not the first time though that these two teams are meeting in the U-19 Cup final and India had even beaten the same opponents in the 2012 and 2018 editions of the tournament. India also are the defending champions and this will be their ninth final appearance overall.
The U-19 Cup has also traditionally presented India with some of the brightest future stars, even as there will be some who will slip into the shadows in the time
to come despite all the spotlight they will get on Sunday. Some will be Yuvraj Singhs and Virat Kohlis, while the others will suffer the fate of Reetinder Singh Sodhis and Unmukt Chands.
