U19 World Cup Final: West Indies stun India to seal maiden triumph

West Indies rode on its fast-bowling arsenal to win the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup for the first time with a tense five-wicket victory over three-time winner India in the final in Mirpur on Sunday.

The pace trio of Alzarri Joseph, Ryan John and Chemar Holder shone on a spicy, moisture-laden pitch to demolish India’s fancied batting line-up for 145 after electing to field.

Sarfaraz Khan played a lone hand for the Rahul Dravid-coached Indian team with 51, his fifth half-century in six matches, as Joseph and John picked up three wickets each and Keemo Paul two.

West Indies slipped to 77 for five in reply against the steady India attack before Keacy Carty (52 not out) and Paul (40 not out) put on 69 for the unfinished sixth wicket to steer their team home with three deliveries to spare.

It was the first major title for the West Indies at any level since Darren Sammy’s senior team won the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in 2012.

Skipper Shimron Hetmyer’s boys won the tournament after defeating three sub-continent teams - Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India - in the knockout rounds.

“We were not supposed to be the champions, but we did it,” he said. “I feel good, words can’t explain how good I feel. The way the guys played showed how much we wanted to win the tournament.

“The pace bowlers used the pitch to their advantage and helped each other to keep the pressure on the Indians. Coming from the Caribbean, we did not expect such pitches in Bangladesh.

“I am delighted for both Carty and Paul. They are aggressive players but they adjusted to the situation and kept a calm head.”

It was only the second defeat for India in the last 22 matches, ending an unbeaten run in the tournament.

“I feel sad today because we wanted to win badly,” said India captain Ishan Kishan. “It was not easy to bat out there in the morning because their fast bowlers really used the conditions well.

“We needed partnerships which did not happen. I thought our bowlers did well but our fielding let us down, including some dropped catches. We certainly should have fielded better.”

Dravid complimented the West Indies and said the defeat will serve as a good lesson for his young wards.

“I am disappointed for them. It is tough for these young kids to lose a final,” the batting great said. “But hopefully this is the start of a journey for them and every experience is a learning curve.

“We have tasted a lot of success with this team. Unfortunately, the only loss for them was the biggest game they have played.

“Hopefully they can go on to become better people, better cricketers. That is the real purpose of this tournament.”

Asked the reason for the West Indies success, Dravid said: “You have to give credit where it is due. I thought they bowled really at good lengths and good lines.

“They maintained pressure right through the innings. At no stage did we feel they were giving us easy balls to hit.

“But I am proud of the way our team came back and tried to defend the total till the last over. Sitting outside that really made me very proud.”

The next edition of the tournament will be held in 2018 in New Zealand with seventh-placed Namibia, the highest-ranked Associate member, qualifying directly along with the 10 Test playing sides.

West Indies beat India by five wickets in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Dhaka on Sunday to win the title for the first time.

Ryan John and Alzarri Joseph grabbed three wickets each as West Indies bowled out India for 145 runs.

Making an unbeaten 52 runs, Keacy Carty then guided the West Indies to a 146-5 victory with three balls to spare.

Fired-up paceman Alzarri Joseph grabbed three wickets as the West Indies bowled out three-time champions India for 145 runs in the ICC Under-19 World Cup final in Dhaka on Sunday.
 
Joseph, who finished with 3 for 39, led the attack for the West Indies after captain Shimron Hetmyer won the toss and elected to bowl first.  

Hard-hitting batsman Rishabh Pant was stumped in the first over by wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach, leaving the Indians unsettled early.

Joseph, arguably the fastest bowler in the competition, with deliveries of more than 145kph (90 mph), then forced an edge from Anmolpreet Singh with a vicious short ball, before trapping skipper Ishan Kishan in front, to leave India struggling at 27-3.  

Sarfaraz Khan staged a lone crusade for India, notching up 51 off 89 balls, but wickets continued to tumble at the other end, with India all out after only 45.1 overs of their allotted 50.  

Medium-pacers Ryan John and Keemo Paul took 3 for 38 and 2 for 17 respectively.

India, playing in their fifth final, are three-time winners of the U19 tournament, while the West Indies, appearing in their second final, are chasing their first title.

Scoreboard:

India
R. Pant st Imlach b Joseph 1
I. Kishan lbw b Joseph 4
A. Singh c Imlach b Joseph 3
W. Sundar c Joseph b John 7
S. Khan lbw b John 51
A. Jaffer c Paul b Springer 5
M. Lomror c Imlach b Holder 19
M. Dagar c Carty b John 8
R. Batham c Imlach b Paul 21
A. Khan c John b Paul 1
K. Ahmed not out 2
Extras (b2 lb5 w16) 23
Total (all out, 45.1 overs) 145
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Pant), 2-8 (Singh), 3-27 (Kishan), 4-41 (Sundar), 5-50 (Jaffer), 6-87 (Lomror), 7-116 (Dagar), 8-120 (S. Khan), 9-123 (A. Khan), 10-145 (Batham)
Bowling: Joseph 10-0-39-3 (w5), Holder 10-2-20-1 (w6), John 10-0-38-3, Springer 9-1-24-1(w1), Paul 6.1-0-17-2 (w4)
Toss: West Indies
Umpires - Rob Bailey (ENG) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI)
TV umpire - Mick Martell (AUS)
Match referee - Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe)

West Indies captain Shimron Hetmyer won the toss and elected to  bowl in the ICC Under-19 World Cup final against India at the Sher-e-National Stadium in Dhaka on Sunday.  

India Under-19s: Khaleel Ahmed, Anmolpreet Singh, Armaan Jaffer, Avesh Khan, Rahul Batham, Mayank Dagar, Ishan Kishan (capt), Sarfaraz Khan,  Mahipal Lomror, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar.

West Indies Under-19s: Keacy Carty, Michael Frew, Jyd Goolie, Shimron Hetmyer (Capt), Chemar Holder, Tevin Imlach, Ryan John, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Gidron Pope, Shamar Springer,

Umpires - Rob Bailey (ENG) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI)
TV umpire - Mick Martell (AUS)
Match referee - Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe)

Windies seek to revive former glory

The West Indies will hope to rekindle memories of their former glory in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Sunday as they take on modern-day giants of the game India in the ICC Under-19 World Cup final.

The young Caribbeans exceeded all expectations to reach the final of the prestigious meet, despite starting the tournament on a wrong foot with a 61-run loss to England in their opening match.

But they have not looked back since, beating Fiji and Zimbabwe in the group stage to qualify for the quarter-final.

They reserved their best for the knock-out rounds, first stunning Pakistan by five wickets before ending the dream of hosts and tournament favourites Bangladesh with a thrilling three-wicket win in Thursday's semi-final.

Skipper Shimron Hetmyer, Shamar Springer and the hard-hitting Gidron Pope starred in both the run-chases, while fast bowler Alzarri Joseph's fiery spells have often been timed at above 145 kph (90 mph).

Former Caribbean fast bowler Ian Bishop said he believed West Indies cricket still had a deep reservoir of talent.

"(The) kids have done better than I thought they would have," Bishop told AFP in an interview on Saturday.

"I wouldn't say they were as prepared as they could have been. So to get to the final... I think it will encourage a lot of West Indian supporters."

Bishop, a member of a great West Indies team of the 1990s, is in Dhaka as a television commentator for the tournament.

"It also give a glimpse that West Indies do have talents, if not as much as before," he said.

He said that the West Indies should have "programmes in place" to turn talented youngsters into world beaters like their predecessors of the 1970s-90s.

India favourites

India will start the match as the favourites being the only unbeaten side so far, but West Indies captain Hetmyer is not too concerned.  

"They are a very good team and are unbeaten but two days ago we played against Bangladesh who were unbeaten. We beat them," Hetmyer said.

"We just go out and play our best cricket in the tournament, tomorrow. Let's hope we come out on top."

India are on a 15-match winning streak in the tournament since losing to England in the quarter-final of the previous edition in the United Arab Emirates two years ago.

They have also won 20 of its 21 one-day matches since January 2014.

India Under-19 captain Ishan Kishan said they are not intimidated by the West Indies' fast bowlers, who also include opening bowler Chemar Holder.

"Most of us who are batting in the top order play domestic cricket back in India," said Kishan.

"We face senior fast bowlers in first-class cricket. So, it's not a problem. But it is about how we plan to tackle them and how we execute it on the field."

India won the tournament three times previously and are making their fifth final. The West Indies will be chasing their maiden title, having reached their second final.

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