India Under-19 captain Uday Saharan said they will keep learning and getting better following a heart-breaking loss against Australia in the final of the 2023 U19 World Cup at Willowmoore Park in Benoni, South Africa.
Australia beat India by 79 runs to lift the U19 World Cup trophy for the fourth time in their history. The Aussies also won the title in 1988, 2002 and 2010.
Speaking after their loss in the final, Saharan said they played a few rash shots, while adding that the team showed fighting spirit against Australia. Saharan missed out on a chance to become the sixth Indian captain to lift the U19 World Cup.
“We played a few rash shots and couldn’t spend some time on the surface. We were prepared for it but we couldn’t execute well. That is where we went wrong. It was great, I am very proud of the boys, they played very well. The entire team, from the start to the end showed fighting spirit. They played very well and I am proud of them,” said Saharan.
He went on to say that the players will keep learning and getting better, insisting that he learnt a lot during the course of this tournament. This triumph marked Australia’s third win over India in an ICC men’s event final within the last eight months. Australia, who won their fourth U19 World Cup, is only behind India (5) in terms of U19 World Cup titles won.
“There have been a lot of learnings, right from the start to now. I have learnt a lot from the staff and even during the match, have learnt so much We will try to keep learning and getting better,” Saharan added.
The Australians set a formidable target of 253 runs, thanks to notable contributions from Harjas Singh, who top-scored with 55 runs, smashing three boundaries and as many sixes, and Oliver Peake, who remained unbeaten with a swift 46 off 43 balls.
With the ball, the young Australian pacers were relentless, with Mahli Beardman delivering an exceptional performance, picking 3 wickets for just 15 runs and earning the ‘Player of the Final’ accolade. The Australian bowling attack dismantled the Indian batting lineup, bundling them out for 174 runs in under 44 overs.
Australia are now the champions of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, the World Test Championship, the Women’s T20 World Cup, the Women’s ODI World Cup and now the U19 Men’s World Cup.
