Manjot Kalra and His Victory

Manjot Kalra's superlative, unbeaten century helped India cruise to their fourthUnder-19 World Cup title victory, after the bowlers put on an impressive show in the final against Australia in Mount Manunganui on Saturday. India had all their bases covered with bowlers' bouncing backing to dismiss Australia for 216 from 183 for four at one stage. The highly-rated batting, barring a minor blip, completed the job with conviction as India chased down the modest target in 38.5 overs. Manjot Kalra emerged as the man for the big occasion, scoring a sublime 101 not out off 102 balls and was named Man of the Match. Kalra got vital partnerships going with each batsman he batted with - 71 with Shaw, 60 with Shubman Gill and an unbeaten 89 with Harvik Desai and formed the fulcrum around which the chase revolved. With a fourth crown, India surpassed Australia in the race of most U-19 World Cup titles. Prior to the final, India and Australia were locked at three titles each.

Manjot Kalra, who had smashed a match-winning 86 against Australia in the tournament opener, was in devastating touch again. He hammered the spinners for huge sixes and showed his silken touch by beautifully driving the pacers through covers. In the end, he finished with eight fours and three sixes. Harvik Desai hit the winning boundary, sending the team members and the packed crowd into a frenzy. At 183 for four, Australia looked well on course to reach 250 in a high-pressure match until the Indian spinners engineered the collapse with the Jason Sangha-led side losing its last six wickets for 33 runs. Earlier, Jonathan Merlo made a solid 76 before India's left-arm spin duo of Shiva Singh and Anukul Roy sprung into action, limiting Australia to 216.Merlo and Param Uppal (34) were involved in a 75-run stand for the fourth wicket before the innings' top-scorer shared 49-runs with Nathan McSweeney (23) to set the platform for a competitive total.

But, the momentum shifted hugely into India's favour when Shiva (2/36) set up Sweeney to have the batsman caught and bowled, leaving Australia at 183 for five. Earlier, India's leading wicket-taker in the event, Anukul Roy (2/32), had sent back Uppal in a similar fashion as offered a simple catch back to the bowler while attempting to play against the spin. While Indian spinners delivered under pressure in the middle overs, the pacers were impressive again upfront and towards the end. Hitting through the line was not easy as the surface was on the slower side. Pacer Ishan Porel (2/30) got rid of both the openers who punched a rising ball straight to cover. Kamlesh Nagarkoti (2/41), another find for India in the tournament, removed Australian captain Jason Sangha (13) that moved away just enough to take the edge to the wicket-keeper.

Nagarkoti along with Shivam Mavi (1/46) also helped in polishing off the tail after Shiva's accurate throw from deep had Baxter Bolt run out on 13. Both teams went into the contest unchanged. The team's performance was also a fitting tribute to coach Rahul Dravid, who finally got his hands on a Under-19 World Cup trophy. Under Dravid, the side had finished runner-up in the 2016 edition in Bangladesh.