India U-19 lost the finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup against Australia U-19 and this is the third straight ICC final where the Men in Blue have been defeated by Australia. Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif took to ‘X’ with a beautiful message for the Men in Blue.
India U-19 lost the finals by 79 runs as they were bundled for just 174 while chasing 254 in the finals after Australia U-19 posted 253/7 in their fifty overs. The Men in Blue lost to Australia for the first time in the Under-19 World Cup finals for the first time.
India and Australia have clashed in two Under-19 World Cup finals before this game and the Men in Blue won both the times in 2012 and 2018 under Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw respectively.
This is the third straight ICC Final between the two nations where the Men in Blue have again failed to win the finals against Australia. India lost the World Test Championship Finals in June 2023 then the ODI World Cup finals in November 2023 and now the ICC Under-19 World Cup.
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This was the fifth straight final played by the Men in Blue in Under-19 World Cups and out of these five, they have won two in 2018 and 2022. Ishan Kishan in 2016 led the Men in Blue to the finals but was defeated by West Indies then Prithvi Shaw-led side defeated Australia in 2018 to clinch the title.
Priyam Garg took the charge and got beaten by Bangladesh in the finals in 2020 and then Yash Dhull led the team to victory by beating England in the finals of 2022. Now Uday Saharan took the the Men in Blue to the summit clash but was defeated by Australia.
Mohammad Kaif, who was the first captain to win the Under-19 World Cup for the Men in Blue in 2000 motivated the young stars through his tweet. He wrote, “At the U-19 level team results don’t matter much. Future stars learn lessons that help them in the long journey… Well played India. This time have to say Australia good on pitch and on paper.”
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Watch- Mohammad Kaif’s Tweet For India’s Under-19 Players After Heartbreaking Loss In The Finals
At u-19 level team results don’t matter much. Future stars learn lesson that help them in long journey.. Well played India. This time have to say Australia good on pitch, and on paper 😊#U19WorldCup2024
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) February 11, 2024
India is still the most successful team in the Under-19 World Cups with five titles. They won the trophy under Mohammad Kaif in 2000, Virat Kohli in 2008, Unmukt Chand in 2012, Prithvi Shaw in 2018, and Yash Dhull in 2022.
They reached the finals in 2006, 2016, 2020, and now 2024 but ended up being the runners-up. India has the best win rate in the tournament’s history and has been consistently performing well in the competition for the last five editions.
In this Under-19 World Cup 2024, there were players from India who performed extremely well. Indian skipper Uday Saharan ended up as the tournament’s highest run scorer with 397 runs in seven innings at an average of 56.71 and batter Musheer Khan who is the brother of Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan was the second-highest run scorer of the tournament as he amassed 360 runs in seven innings at an average of 60.00.
