Hrishikesh Kanitkar: We’re in the right direction

India players celebrate a Sri Lankan wicket during the U-19 Asia Cup final at Dubai in Friday. Pic/ACC

India U-19's Asia Cup victory against Sri Lanka on Friday is the ideal stepping stone for glory in the U-19 World Cup, scheduled to be held in the West Indies from January 14.

The Yash Dhull-led team outclassed Sri Lanka by nine wickets (via the D/L method) in Dubai.

In a rain-hit 38-over final, Sri Lanka were restricted to 106-9 in 38 overs, thanks to Pune boys - left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal (3-11) and off-spinner Kaushal Tambe (2-23).

Hrishikesh Kanitkar

India provided a sizzling reply, riding on Mumbai-based opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi's unbeaten 56 (7x4) and one-drop Shaik Rasheed's 31 not out. India reached the revised target of 102 in 21.3 overs.

Head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar reckoned this triumph is a good confidence-booster before the World Cup. "It's a fine achievement. We are moving in the right direction as far as the U-19 World Cup is concerned. They are playing as a team, which is very important," the former India batsman told Sunday mid-day from Dubai.

Teamwork pays

Kanitkar, who played 34 ODIs and two Tests, credited teamwork. "Individual performances have been very good. But a lot of players contributed, so it's not like we depended on one or two players. That's a good sign and from a coaching point of view, it's nice to have multiple contributors. But we can't relax, because it's [World Cup] going to be a bigger challenge," he said.

Kanitkar, 47, who is remembered for his last-ball boundary that took India over the line against Pakistan while chasing 314 in the Independence Cup final in 1998 at Dhaka, was disappointed when his boys lost to the arch-rivals by two wickets last week.

"Some of our batsmen got out just when they needed to push the game along. Losing wickets to regular deliveries cost us the game and we learnt from those mistakes. We were also in a tight spot against Afghanistan, but we were able to win that game," Kanitkar explained.

Kanitkar lavished praise on captain Dhull: "He is a very good leader. He is very proactive, very dynamic on the field and reacts to situations well. His mindset is flexible depending on what the situation demands. He is not predictable, which is a very good sign for a captain."

High expectations

However, Dhull's Delhi-based coach Pradeep Kochar, who has been with him since he was 11, is disappointed with his ward's performance. Dhull managed 115 runs from five games.

"I was expecting more runs from him. He scored 63 [against UAE] in the first game. He should have converted that into a big knock. He got out [for a duck] against Pakistan. He needs to work on his shot selection," Kochar said.