West Indies skipper Shimron Hetmyer won the toss and chose to bowl against India in the final of the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here on Sunday.
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India sailed into their fifth final under the precious guidance of coach Rahul Dravid, steamrolling their opponents in the three league games as well as in the knock-outs.
For the West Indies, it has been a fascinating tale of unpredictability.
The current players were not even born when the two sides last contested a final at any level – the 1983 World Cup final at Lord’s in which Kapil Dev’s India denied Clive Lloyd’s West Indies a hat-trick of titles.
In advancing to today’s final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, they demonstrated a resilience that, for a multiplicity of reasons, has repeatedly been beyond their seniors.
West Indies chased down the modest target of 227 set by Bangladesh to reach the final for the second time in the history of the tournament.
Joseph, who opened the bowling for West Indies, struck in the very first over of the day.
India Under-19s captain Ishan Kishan had said on the eve of the match; “If initially me and Pant stay till the 12th over then 300 is possible because we know how to rotate the strike, and when to hit”.
And, it seems that stars are also in favor of the Indian colts as they find themselves in a position of strength astrologically too. Arman Jaffer drove a full toss from Shamar Springer which got the flight but only land in the lap of the short-cover fielder who finished a low catch at ankle-height. “We haven’t faced a really good pace bowling attack yet in this tournament, which has caused problems for our openers”.
“We will give our 100 percent”. Courageous decision in a World Cup final.
The board said Pollard, 28, had told them he could not play in next month’s World Twenty20 in India because the knee injury he sustained in South Africa’s Ram Slam T20 in November had not fully healed. “We have to rely on the skills that we have and most importantly the learning that’s taken place in the last four to five matches”. Sri Lanka reduced Pakistan, England and India to 27 for 1 (4.5 overs), 47 for 3 (14.5 overs) and 27 for 2 (9.2 overs) respectively, while Nepal were 19 for 2 in 6.1 overs against Bangladesh.
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“We probably score better at the start, I would say”.
