Under-19 World Cup 2018: 5 biggest positives for India 

#3 Temperament

India played the big moments very well. Even in the final, they were under pressure but they came back well.

In a multi-team tournament like the World Cup (Under-19), each team needs different players to stand up for the side at different stages if they are to do well in the tournament. And that is what exactly happened for India.

Every time the team was put under pressure, they found different players standing up and delivering. They did have a couple of easy games in the group stage against Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe, but in the knockout games (quarter-final, semi-final and final) they were in tough situations.

In the quarter-final against Bangladesh, India lost wickets at regular intervals while batting first. However, Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma (at different stages) kept the scoreboard ticking from one end and eventually took the team to a fighting total of 265. Defending an under-par score, the Indian bowlers stepped up once again to bowl India to victory.

In the semi-final (against Pakistan), India lost wickets at regularly throughout the innings, but Shubman Gill once again stood up and scored a superb unbeaten 102 (in 94 balls) to take the score to 272.

In the final against Australia, they did show some nerves early in the game, but every time it seemed the Aussies were ahead, the bowlers bought India back in the game. 217 wasn’t a big target, but the pressure of a big final was there and the batsmen handled it superbly to help India clinch the title.

The focus, the discipline and the temperament they’ve show is throughout the tournament has been very good. Keeping their cool when things didn’t go in their favour (which happened seldomly), consolidating strong positions and treating every win as a motivation to win the next.