West Indies wins maiden ICC U19 Cricket World Cup
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.”
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.
