South Africa wins maiden ICC Under19 Cricket World Cup 2014

South Africa won its maiden ICC U19 Cricket World Cup title when it defeated two-time former champion Pakistan by six wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

Fast bowler Corbin Bosch saved his best performance in the tournament for the title match when he claimed four for 15, and wicketkeeper Clyde Fortuin collected six catches behind the wickets as Pakistan was bundled out for 131 in 44.3 overs after electing to bat first.

South Africa captain Aiden Markram then held one end together as he scored an unbeaten 66 to guide his team home in 42.1 overs. Markram, who faced 125 balls and hit six fours, was well assisted by Greg Oldfield, who contributed 40 in a 71-runs partnership for the third wicket to help the side recover after South Africa was reduced to 28 for two.

Bosch was named the player of the match for his brilliant figures in the final.

Markram finished as the highest scorer for South Africans (3rd highest overall) in the tournament with 370 runs to his name, including two centuries and one half-century in the final. The Proteas captain was also named the player of the tournament.

18-year-old express pacer Kagiso Rabada was the highest wicket-taker for South Africa (2nd highest overall), picking 14 wickets in five matches. Rabada was the hero in semi-final, when he destroyed Australia with his spell of 6/25.

The next ICC U19 Cricket World Cup will be staged in Bangladesh in 2016 and details will be announced in due course.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 131 all out (Amad Butt 37, Zafar Gohar 22; Corbin Bosch 4/15, Yaseen Valli 2/19)

South Africa 134/4 (Aiden Arkram 66*, Greg Oldfied 40; Karamat Ali 2/24, Zia-ul-Haq 1/27)

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India announce squad for Under-19 World Cup

India will defend its Under-19 World Cup title under Vijay Zol‘s captaincy, who recently led India to junior Asia Cup victory, as the talented batsman has been named skipper of the 15-man squad.

Vijay Zol, who had scored a match-winning hundred for the team against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in Sharjah on January 4. Zol also played a key role for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final last week, scoring an unbeaten 91 to help them run down a target of 252 to dump domestic giants Mumbai out of the competition. He is one of only two players in the squad with previous World Cup experience, having been part of the squad that won the title in Australia in 2012. The other is batsman Akhil Herwadkar, who had scored a century and a fifty in five games in the Asia Cup.

The ICC Under-19 World Cup is scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February. The All-India Junior Selection Committee met here to select the Indian team for the big event.

The three-time champions, India have been clubbed with Pakistan, Scotland and Papua New Guinea in Group A. India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 15 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India won the U-19 World Cup title in 2000, 2008 and 2012.

Indian squad:

Vijay Zol (c), Akhil Herwadkar, Ankush Bains, Ricky Bhui, Sanju Vishwanadh Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Amir Gani, Karan Kaila, C.V. Milind, Avesh Khan, Monu Kumar Singh and Atit Seth.

Team Management:

B. Arun (Coach), R Sridhar (Assistant Coach), Biju George (Fielding), Sreenivas PR (Physio), Anant Date (Trainer), Ashutosh Dandige (Video Analyst) and RI Palani

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India U-19 win ACC U-19 Asia Cup with 40-run victory over Pakistan U-19

India beat arch-nemesis Pakistan to be crowned Asian champions in the U-19 tournament at Sharjah on Saturday. Indian skipper Vijay Zol and IPL star Sanju Samson laid the foundation with centuries. Pakistan, chasing a stiff total, failed to keep up with the asking rate and finished 40 runs short.

Chasing a target of 315, Pakistan managed 274 for nine in their 50 overs. It was a disciplined performance from India with the batsmen leading the charge. Skipper Vijay Zol (100) and Sanju Samson (100) scored centuries to put up a challenging target for the opposition.

For Pakistan, their skipper Sami Aslam (87) and Kamran Ghulam (102 not out) were the only batsmen to make an impact in the chase. Their partnership of 93 runs was the only stage where the team was in hunt to surpass the huge total.

Earlier, India were put in to bat by Pakistan after winning the toss. India got off to a rollicking start through Ankush Bains. Zol and Samson shared a crucial 180-run stand to propel India to a huge score. Zol hit seven fours and two sixes, while Samson was more aggressive hitting eight fours and four sixes. India could have scored a few more in the death overs if they had not lost a flurry of wickets towards the end.

India had started their campaign against UAE with a convincing 189-run win and then cruised to victory against Nepal before losing to Pakistan by two wickets in their third match. In the semi-final, India defeated Sri Lanka to setup a title clash with their arch-rivals. The last time these two clashed in an Asia Cup final was in 2012 when the match ended in a tie. With this title finish, the Indians will be favourites to win the U-19 World Cup in February 2014.

Brief scores:

• India U-19 Team: 314 for 8 in 50 overs (Ankush Bains 47, Vijay Zol 100, Sanju Samson 100; Zia-ul-Haq 2 for 56, Zafar Gohar 2 for 56)
• Pakistan U-19 274 for 9 in 50 overs(Sami Aslam 87, Kamran Ghulam 102*; Kuldeep Yadav 3 for 72) by 40 runs.
• Result: India beat Pakistan by 40 runs
• Man of the match: Vijay Zol.
• Player of the tournament: Kamran Ghulam.
• Best batsman: Sami Eslam.
• Best bowler: Karamat Ali

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