Benoni: Off-spinner Murugan Abhishek and left-arm pacer Naman Tiwari had an overwhelming conversation while batting in the middle during the ICC U19 men’s World Cup final encounter between India and Australia, is being widely shared in video sharing platforms.
Murugan and Naman were extremely positive despite knowing the fact that Boys in Blue were staring at defeat. During the match, the pair asserted, “Yaad rakhna, haarenge par seekh ke jayenge (Keep in mind. We will lose but still we will learn).” The chat between the pair was caught by the stump mic.
The conversation took place during the fourth ball of the 38th over of India's innings, when India needed 103 runs to achieve the target with only two wickets in hand.
The banter between the Boys in Blue have evoked mixed responses from the Indian cricket fans. Many praised the duo's positive approach and curiosity to learn, while few criticised the duo and team management for having a negative mindset.
“The mindset to have as a young man,” Jagadish Srireddy, a cricket fan, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We may lose but we will learn and go from here,” wrote StanMSD, another fan.
“Bhai icc tournament jeetne k liye hota , aor bilateral seekhne k liye tumhare toh fundae hi galat hain,” wrote one Raghav Jamwal.
“The men's team also say the same against Australia. They are here to learn not win(sic),” wrote another fan, CM Gogo.
India's tryst with Aussies in ICC tournaments- This is the third instance in the last seven months when India have lost against Australia in the ICC finals - first in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval, then the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad and now in the U-19 World Cup summit clash in Benoni.
Coming to the match, opting to bat, the Aussies posted a defendable 253-run total in their allotted 50 overs, challenging India to mount the highest chase in the youth World Cup summit clash.
But Uday Saharan's side floundered in the final step to glory, stumbling to 174 all out as the relentless Aussie bowlers led by the pacer Mahli Beardman (3/15) and the off-spinner Raf MacMillan (3/43) did not give them any breathing space. As a result, Australia thumped India in the U-19 World Cup final with a 79-run victory in Benoni, South Africa on Sunday.
This was Australia's fourth U19 title and first since 2010. However, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw-led Indian sides have thrashed Australia in two title clashes in 2012 and 2018, respectively.
Read More
