How the stars of the World Cup winning Indian Under 19 team have fared so far
A lot has changed in recent times for India as it’s become a dominating force in cricket all over the world. They won the Under-19 World Cup which was held in New Zealand from the 13th of January to 3rd of February 2018. With this win, India also became the only team to win the World Cup for a record 4 times. They had moved into the World Cup with a lot to prove after being knocked out of the Asia Cup in 2017 suffering shocking defeats to Nepal and Bangladesh. Rahul Dravid, the coach of the Under 19 team, had to make a lot of changes with the Under 19 World Cup around the corner.
India put up dominating performances with two 10 wicket wins over Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe in the group stages of the tournament. In the Semi-Finals India had defeated Pakistan by 203 runs. Before meeting Australia in the Finals, India had already beaten them in their first match of the tournament by 100 runs.
In the finals, it was a similar affair as India reduced the Aussies to a total of 216 with Ishan Porel, Shiva Singh, Anukul Roy, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti picking up 2 wickets each. The Aussies were highly troubled by the pace of Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi who bowled at a constant speed of over 140 miles per hour.
The Indians got off to a flier with both Manjot Kalra and Prithvi Shaw looking in good touch. Manjot Kalra scored an unbeaten hundred which proved to be enough as India chased down the target set by the Aussies with 8 wickets in hand. This victory was even sweeter for Rahul Dravid after his side lost in the finals of the Under 19 World Cup to West Indies in the 2016 edition. Let's have a look at how the stars of India's World Cup Winning campaign have fared so far:
#1 Shubman Gill:
The junior cricketer of the year for 2013-14 and 2014-15 has been in the limelight since the very beginning. He smashed an unbeaten double century on his under-16 debut for Punjab in the Vijay Merchant trophy.
He was awarded as the 'Player of the Tournament' in the Under 19 World Cup where he amassed 372 runs in 6 games at an average of 124. He was also the second highest run-getter scoring 1 century and 3 fifties. He dominated the oppositions throughout the tournament and scored runs at a strike rate of 112.38
Gill was bought by the Kolkata Knight Rider for 1.8 crores after a fierce battle between the Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals for the young batting sensation. He did not disappoint the Knight Riders with the price they paid for him as he scored 203 runs at an average of 33.83 with a strike rate of over 140. He scored his first IPL fifty in his unbeaten knock of 57 off 36 balls against the Chennai Super Kings.
He scored 273 runs in the 5 games he played in the India A tour of England which included 3 fifties. He was the highest run-getter for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018 as he scored 418 runs at an average of 59.71 with three fifties and a century.