11 February,2024 07:56 AM IST | Benoni | PTI
India captain Uday Saharan (left) and Australia captain Hugh Weibgen with the trophy in Benoni on Saturday. Pic/PTI
Few careers will get wings to soar while some will fade into oblivion but on Sunday, all those sprightly 18 and 19-year-old Indian boys will leave no stone unturned to win a record sixth ICC U-19 World Cup when they face Australia in the summit clash here.
On November 19 last year, an Australian team left Rohit Sharma and his band teary-eyed on a global stage and for the Uday Saharans, Sachin Dhas, Musheer Khans and Saumykumar Pandeys, beating an Aussie team would certainly be very sweet.
"No, we are not thinking about revenge. We are firmly focussed on present and we neither want to dwell on past or look too far ahead," skipper Saharan recently told PTI Bhasha in Benoni.
The Aussies have a quartet which could spell trouble for India and they are skipper Hugh Weibgen, opener Harry Dixon, seamers Tom Straker and Callum Vidler, the consistent performers during this edition. India U-19 had beaten Australia in the 2012 and 2018 finals, and will again start favourites during this edition's title match.
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The Indian team have always been an age-group powerhouse, thanks to the talent the country produces in hundreds and their ninth global final is a testimony to the system that has been put in place for the last two decades.
From 2016, India U-19s have played all the finals, winning the 2018 and 2022 editions while losing in 2016 and 2020. Led by Saharan, who is leading the batting charts with 389 runs, the team's performance got better with each match and the only time it has been pushed to a corner in the tournament is the semi-final where it pipped hosts South Africa by a solitary wicket.
The jury is still out on how many of them can actually make it big but if there have been two stand-out players, who looked cut out for bigger things, one is young Maharashtra batter Dhas, who has revelled in the role of a finisher, and left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey, who has so far taken 17 wickets. Sarfaraz Khan's younger brother Musheer, who is the second highest run-getter, is also a handy left-arm spinner.
