Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 7 : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hailed Team India for their ICC Under-19 World Cup triumph, pointing out that this is the result of long-term efforts made by the board to create a bank of players and have a proper structure in place that encourages new talent to prosper.
The age-group cricket and India continue to be a perfect love story as Team India secured their record-extending sixth U19 WC title, with Vaibhav Suryavanshi's massive 175 in just 80 balls, with 15 fours and 15 sixes being the highlight, which pushed India to 411/9, and England fell 100 runs short.
Speaking to ANI, Rajiv Shukla hailed Team India and Suryavanshi, exclaiming, (Suryavanshi stole the show).
"We won the Under-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe. Words cannot express how much praise our players deserve. They did a fantastic job. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi absolutely stole the show today. It felt like runs were raining from his bat. He hit around 15 sixes. The entire team performed exceptionally, and we won today, defeating England by 100 runs. This is a huge achievement. This is the result of the long-term efforts we at the BCCI, and our predecessors, have made to create a players' bank and develop a cricket structure that encourages players and attracts new talent. That's why we have been so successful today," he added.
Speaking on India's T20 World Cup campaign opener against the USA scheduled for Saturday, Shukla said, "Tomorrow is our first World Cup match against the USA, and all the preparations are complete. Tomorrow will be our opening match. I think the World Cup will be very successful, and in this World Cup, India will definitely win. The BCCI and Sri Lanka are joint hosts, and we are fully confident that the Indian team will achieve victory."
After India opted to bat first, a stunner, record-shattering Vaibhav Suryavanshi masterclass (175 in 80 balls, with 15 fours and 15 sixes), a half-century from skipper Ayush Mhatre (53 in 51 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and a knock from Abhigyan Kundu (40 in 31 balls, with six fours and a six) guided India to a massive 411/9.
England lost an early wicket but went from 142/2 courtesy a fine knock from Ben Dawkins (66 in 56 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and a partnership with skipper Thomas Rew (31 in 18 balls, with four boundaries and a six), but collapsed to 177/7 as they progressed. Caleb Falconer (115 in 67 balls, with nine fours and seven sixes) put on a spectacular show of power, but all in vain, as they are yet to win the title since the 1998 edition.
England was skittled out for 311 runs, with this 722 runs being the highest match aggregate in the U19 WC final.