Unmukt Chand leads India to third U-19 World Cup triumph

Skipper Unmukt Chand blasted an unbeaten century as India beat defending champions Australia by six wickets in the final to win the ICC Under-19 World Cup at Townsville in Australia on Sunday.

Chasing a 226-run victory target, India slumped to 97 for four inside 25 overs before Chand (111 not out) and Smit Patel (62 not out) added 130 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket to romp home with 14 balls to spare.

Chand hit seven boundaries and six sixes in his 130-ball knock, while Patel proved the perfect foil hitting four boundaries in his gritty 84-ball knock.

"Townsville has been amazing to us. Today we have set no limit for ourselves. If we create some nuisance, please forgive us," a beaming Chand said after the victory.

Earlier, Sandeep Sharma took four wickets as Australia scored 225 for eight, a total built largely around skipper William Bosisto's unbeaten 87, after being put in by the Indians.

Bosisto, however, was guilty of dropping his Indian counterpart at mid-wicket when Chand was on 84.

Patel too benefitted from sloppy Australian fielding and was dropped by wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson when on two.

Chand, adjudged man of the match, became the third Indian captain to lift the trophy, joining Mohammad Kaif (2000) and Virat Kohli (2008).

Earlier, India frittered away the early advantage as Australia recovered from a shaky start to post a competitive 225 for 8.

Electing to field after winning the toss Indians had the Aussies on the mat at 38 for 4 before host skipper William Bosisto (87 not out) rebuilt the innings with the help of some notable contributions down the order from Tavis Head (37) and Ashton Turner.

Colts 'veteran' Sandeep Sharma who got four for 54 was the most successful bowler.

Both teams named the same XIs that had got them through the knockouts. While Australia, aiming for a fourth title, entered the final undefeated, India had lost one game in the first group stage to the West Indies.

Scorecard
Australia Under-19s innings
C Bancroft lbw b Sandeep 2
J Peirson b Sandeep 0
M Buchanan c Patel b Ravikant 12
K Patterson b Aparajith 16
W Bosisto not out 87
T Head run out 37
A Turner c Chand b Sandeep 43
A Gregory c Nath b Sandeep 4
J Paris run out 0
G Sandhu not out 10
Extras: (b-1, lb-5, w-6, nb-2) 14
Total: (8 wickets; 50 overs) 225
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-8, 3-38, 4-38, 5-103, 6-196, 7-204, 8-206
Bowling: Sandeep Sharma 10-2-54-4, K Passi 9-0-44-0, Ravikant Singh 9-0-41-1, B Aparajith 10-0-31-1, Harmeet Singh 10-1-36-0, U Chand 2-0-13-0.

India Under-19s innings:
Prashant Chopra  c Peirson b Steketee 0
Unmukt Chand not out 111
Baba Aparajith c Turner b Sandhu 33
Hanuma Vihari c & b Turner 4
Vijay Zol c Peirson b Paris 1
Smit Patel not out 62
Extras: (lb-5, w-11) 16
Total: (for 4 wickets in 47.4 overs) 227
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-75, 3-82, 4-97
Bowling: Joel Paris 10-2-33-1, Mark Steketee 9-1-47-1, Gurinder Sandhu 10-0-43-1, Ashton Turner 8.4-1-42-1, Alex Gregory 6-0-40-0, Travis Head 4-0-17-0.

Photograph: Getty Images