Virat Kohli praises U-19 Indian team, says their confidence is great sign

02/01/2018

Virat Kohli has heaped praise on the U-19 cricket team by commenting that the current side has a lot more confidence in comparison to the 2008 team. He applauded team’s approach against Pakistan in the semi-finals and also wished the team the best for the final against Australia.

In January, the Indian cricket team started their series against South Africa and when the fans were busy in watching the Test series, the Indian U-19 team was putting up stellar performances in the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. Under the guidance of Rahul Dravid and captain Prithvi Shaw, the team started their campaign on a winning note, beating Australia by 100 runs. They followed it up with comfortable wins over Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe in the group stages. They beat Bangladesh in the quarter-finals and fixed the semi-final date against Pakistan where they registered an impressive 203-run victory.

Kohli seemed impressed with team’s attacking approach and compared the side with the 2008 team when the Colts won the U-19 World Cup under Kohli’s captaincy.

“It feels amazing (to see them do well). I interacted with them before they left and it’s a lovely bunch of boys. Compared to our lot (when India won in 2008 under Kohli), the confidence levels are somewhere else which is a great sign,” said Kohli as quoted by The Indian Express.

“You’ll see many people making a strong statement for themselves much earlier than we all did. They’ve done amazingly well and the semifinal (against Pakistan) was an amazing game.”

The team received a lot of appreciation after the win against Pakistan in the semi-final match. Despite knowing the arch-rivalry between the two nations, the Indian side instead of showing nervousness were in complete control right from the start till the end. The team managed to win the crucial game by a whopping 203-run margin as they dismissed Pakistan at just 69 runs after scoring 272 runs. India is now focusing on the final to win the fourth U-19 World Cup title. The final of the tournament will be played on February 3 where they will face Australia against whom they win the first league game.

“Playing such a high-pressure game (against Pakistan), they really stood up and that’s what you want to see. You want to see people standing up when it’s needed the most. I want to wish them all the very best for the final. We’ll all be following very keenly and we’ll be eagerly waiting to see them lift the cup again. I believe they have the talent, and they believe in that much more than I do, which I think is very, very important,” the Indian skipper stated.

Virat Kohli praises U-19 Indian team, says their confidence is great sign

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