WATCH: “Yaad rakhna, haarenge par…,” U19 player’s WHOLESOME words caught on stump mic after final loss to Australia

The Indian youngsters knew they were going to lose the match, but took a positive perspective from it.

WATCH: “Yaad rakhna, haarenge par…,” U19 player’s WHOLESOME words caught on stump mic after final loss to Australia

Naman Tiwari and Murugan Abhishek began a late fight back during the U19 World Cup finals. (Image via ESPN)

On 11th January, India lost the ICC U19 World Cup final by 79 runs. It was India’s third consecutive loss in the final of an ICC event, losing the WTC finals in June 2023 and the World Cup finals in November 2023. 

During the match, India had a batting collapse, losing four wickets for 32 runs while being 90/4. Murugan Abhishek and Naman Tiwari initiated a late fight back, with a partnership of 46, but it was of no use as Abhishek was dismissed. During their partnership, the young Tiwari and Abhishek were extremely positive despite the situation they were in, with the left-arm pacer saying they could learn despite the loss.

YouTube video
Yaad rakhna, haarenge par seekh ke jayenge (Remember, even if we lose, we’ll learn something)
Naman Tiwari to Murugan Abhishek

India ended up as runners-up of the tournament despite winning all their matches before their tournament. This was their 9th final, but 4th time coming as runner-ups. 

India’s U19 World Cup campaign 

In the previous U19 World Cup, India had beaten England in the final. Now the new batch of the U19 players went into the tournament with the aim of retaining it. They started off well in the group stage, topping it by beating Bangladesh, Ireland and USA. 

U19 Indian Cricket Team
U19 Indian Cricket Team celebrate a wicket (Image via ESPN)

They then went on to the Super 6 round, where they were drawn with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ireland, New Zealand and Nepal. Despite drawing these five opponents, they only played against the Kiwis and Nepal, beating both. 

They were drawn to South Africa in the semi-finals, who gave a great fight. The young Proteas put up a target of 245, and gave it all to defend the target. India lost their first four wickets for only 32 runs, but captain Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas put up a partnership of 171 runs, and chased down the target with 7 balls left. 

In the finals, the Australian middle order ensured the Aussies had put up a good target which would be difficult to chase. They set up a target of 254, which would be the highest target chased in the U19 World Cup if India managed it. Unfortunately, seven batters put up single digit scores, with them getting bowled out for 174. 

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