From Kaif's colts' maiden win to heartbreak for Garg's side — India's past performances in U-19 World Cup

Two years after Bangladesh’s roaring victory over India in that final of the ICC U19 World Cup, the biennial tournament returns, this time being hosted by the West Indies.

Sixteen teams will take part in the tournament, and as always, this will provide a platform for budding cricketers who set their sights on making the big stage.

India have won the tournament a record four times (2000, 2008, 2012, 2018), but fell short of the title in the most recent edition in 2020.

The newest edition of the tournament kicks off on Friday, when West Indies take on Australia.

Here, we take a look at the history of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, and India’s performance in it.

1988 Bicentennial Youth World Cup

The inaugural edition of the U19 Cricket World Cup, then named as the Youth World Cup, was something devised by Graham Halbish, then General Manager of the Australian Cricket Board. The tournament featured eight teams - India, Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies, along with an ICC Associates side. The Associates side consisted of four players from Zimbabwe and two each from Bermuda, Bangladesh, Denmark, Canada and Netherlands.

The Indian team consisted of the likes of Nayan Mongia and Pravin Amre, while also having Venkatapathy Raju and Narendra Hirwani in their ranks.

The other future skippers that took part in this tournament included the England duo of Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton, Pakistan’s Inzamam -ul-Haq and West Indies’ Brian Lara and Ridley Jacobs.

The tournament was conducted in a single league format with Australia and Pakistan, the top two teams, entering the final.

Australia went to win the final, with Brett Williams being the highest run-scorer while Mushtaq Ahmed (19 wickets) was the highest wicket-taker.

India finished in fifth place with three wins out of seven matches.

1998 U19 World Cup

Ten years since the previous edition in Australia, this time, the tournament took place in South Africa. ICC had decided to make this a biennial tournament from this one.

This edition was expanded to 16 teams with hosts South Africa joining the other Test-playing countries and seven qualifiers-Denmark, Bangladesh, Ireland, Kenya, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and Scotland.

The teams were divided into four groups that were named after legendary cricketers-Sunil Gavaskar, Don Bradman, Colin Cowdrey and Sir Garfield Sobers.

There were changes in advancing to the next round as the top two teams in each group qualified for the Super League, while the bottom two teams competed in a Plate Championship.

India were placed in the Gavaskar Pool, and advanced to the Super League after finishing second, behind South Africa.

However, despite beating Pakistan and England in Super League, a defeat to Australia meant the Indians would finish the Super League group third, with four points.

Mohammad Kaif was India’s highest-scorer with 251 runs.

England defeated New Zealand in the Super League final, while Bangladesh beat West Indies in the Plate Championship final.

This tournament sprung up future superstars like Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Kyle Mills among a few others.

Chris Gayle ended as the tournament’s run-scorer with 364 runs while Ramnaresh Sarwan and Zimbabwe’s Mluleki Nkala were the wicket-takers, with 16 scalps each.

2000 U19 World Cup

The tournament was hosted in Asia for the first time, with Sri Lanka welcoming the Test nations along with seven qualifiers-Nepal, Kenya, Namibia, Ireland, Americas Region, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.

Two Asian sides competed in the Super League final, with India, led by Mohammad Kaif, beating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the final. South Africa, meanwhile, won the Plate Championship by beating Bangladesh in that final.

Future Proteas skipper Graeme Smith was the leading run-getter with 348 runs while Pakistan’s Zahid Saeed was the top wicket-taker with 15 scalps. Yuvraj Singh was adjudged Player of the tournament.

2002 U19 World Cup

Bangladesh were given Test status following the 2000 edition and that meant the number of Test teams were now 10.

Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, PNG, Canada and Scotland were the six qualifier teams for the edition that was held in New Zealand.

Australia clinched their second title, beating South Africa in the Super League final, while Zimbabwe beat Nepal in the Plate Championship final.

Cameron White ended as the top run-getter with 423 runs, while Xavier Doherty was the top wicket-taker with 16 scalps.

India reached the semi-final of the tournament but eventually lost to South Africa.

2004 U19 World Cup

Four years since India’s maiden title triumph at the U19 World Cup, it was Ambati Rayudu’s time to lead the Boys in Blue.

Rayudu would go on to play for the senior Indian team in 55 ODIs, but the player who had the most impact in the tournament was Shikhar Dhawan.

Dhawan would go on to finish the tournament as the top-run getter, with 505 runs from just seven matches.

This included as many as three centuries, and a fifty.

India began their campaign with a very easy win over Scotland. After Dhawan’s unbeaten 155 helped India posted 425/3, the bowlers had a comfortable outing restricting the Scots to just 155/8 from 50 overs.

The Indians then had it easy against New Zealand and Bangladesh in their remaining group matches, registering 69-run and 131-run wins over the two teams respectively.

Their only defeat in the Super League was to South Africa, and convincing wins over West Indies and Sri Lanka would see them through to the semi-finals, where they met arch-rivals Pakistan.

India won the toss and opted to bat against Pakistan, but the batters disappointed. Robin Uthappa’s top-score of 33 would see India only post 169 on board,  a target Pakistan chased with five wickets and 31 balls to spare.

2006 U19 World Cup

Ravikant Shukla-led India U19 team had a lot of familiar names in this edition of the U19 World Cup - Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla to name a few.

Expectations were high after their semi-final appearance in the previous edition, and they did not disappoint.

India were placed in a comfortable group consisting of Namibia, Scotland and Sri Lanka. They registered easy wins over Namibia and Scotland, before being made to fight against Sri Lanka. Chasing a target of 208, the early departures of openers would see Rohit Sharma (78) stepping up while the lesser-known Mayank Tehlan (64) also did his bit. Despite the duo’s contributions, India were in a spot of bother at 176/5, but Debabrata Das (15*) and Ravindra Jadeja (4*) would see them over the finish line.

In the quarter-final against West Indies, a combined effort from Gaurav Dhiman (74), Pujara (97) and Rohit (50) would see India post 284/9 and eventually go on to win by 126 runs.

And after easing past England by 234 runs, India would face a tough battle against Pakistan.

Piyush Chawla picked four to see off Pakistan for 109, only for India to suffer a batting collapse.

Nine single-figure scores would see India collapsing to just 71 inside 19 overs and Pakistan winning the title. Pujara, with 349 runs, would end as the tournament’s leading run-scorer as well as win the Player of the Tournament award.

2008 U19 World Cup

We all know what happened in this edition hosted by Malaysia. This tournament unearthed Virat Kohli, who would go on to make a name for himself while shattering numerous records in international cricket.

India began their campaign with an easy 195-run win over PNG, before beating South Africa and West Indies in the same group.

And while they had it quite easy against England in the quarter-final (Winning by seven wickets), they would face a tight contest against New Zealand in the semi-final.

New Zealand, led by current senior skipper Kane Williamson, opted to bat after winning the toss, and while the Indian bowlers managed to restrict them to 205/8, the Indian middle-order would have their task cut out.

Rain in Kaula Lumpur meant that India would have to chase 191 from 43 overs.

Tanmay Srivastava departed for 13, Kohli got a start but got dismissed for 43 and Manish Pandey (18) too would endure a not-so-good outing.

However, Saurabh Tiwary (29*) stood firm with Pradeep Sangwan at the other end to take India from a spot of bother at 177-5 to victory, with three wickets and 51 balls to spare.

Heavy rains reduced the final against South Africa to 25 overs, and India after scoring 159 on the back of Tanmay’s 46, reduced the Proteas to 103/8 from 25 overs. The Proteas were to chase 116, but fell short eventually. India won the championship.

2010 U19 World Cup

The Indian squad of the 2010 U19 World Cup included current stars like KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. Led by Ashok Menaria, India were one of the favourites heading to the tournament in New Zealand, but a disappointing outcome against Pakistan in the quarter-final is what let them down and ended hopes of a title defence.

The Boys in Blue began their campaign in style with big wins over Afghanistan and Hong Kong, but a disappointing batting show against Azeem Rafiq’s England, that consisted of Joe Root as well, meant they fell 31 runs short in that group game.

However, India would go on to beat England in the fifth-place playoff semi-final, before going down to South Africa to settle for the sixth place.

2012 U19 World Cup

Unmukt Chand led this Indian team to glory for the third time in the Under-19 World Cup, their first since 2000.

Barring the opening match against West Indies, where a disappointing batting effort led to their defeat, the Indians thoroughly enjoyed a wholesome campaign, which was made even more memorable thanks to Unmukt’s unbeaten 111 in the final against Australia.

India had it easy against Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea in the group stage, before surviving a scare against Pakistan in the quarters and edging New Zealand in the semis.

India were chasing 226 in the final after William Bosisto’s 87 not out led Australia to 225/8, and following Vijay Zol’s dismissal, India were in a spot of bother at 97/4 in the 25^th over. But, an inspired fightback from Unmukt and Smit Patel (62 not out) saw them build a 130-run stand to give them a third title in the tournament.

2014 U19 World Cup

Vijay Zol, who had played the previous edition as well, returned to lead the side this time. And India began on a promising note, with wins over Pakistan, Scotland and PNG to reach the quarter-finals. However, a total of 221/8 against England despite contributions from Zol (48), Deepak Hooda (68) and Sarfaraz Khan (52 not out) wasn't enough as an inspired batting display from Ben Duckett (61) as well as the English lower-order led them to a three-wicket win to leave India out of contention for the trophy.

Victories over Sri Lanka (Playoff semi-final) and West Indies (fifth place Playoff final) meant that India took fifth place as a consolation.

2016 U19 World Cup

India, led by Ishan Kisha, would reach the final of this tournament, only to fall to West Indies in the decider.

India began their campaign with dominant wins over Ireland, New Zealand and Nepal in the group stage before thumping Namibia and Sri Lanka in the quarters and semis respectively.

Against West Indies, it was a forgettable batting card, barring Sarfaraz Khan’s 51, as India were bundled out for 145.

In reply, Mayank Dagar did take three wickets but Keacy Carty (52 not out) and Keemo Paul (40 not out) took the Windies home with five wickets to spare.

2018 U19 World Cup

Led by Prithvi Shaw, coached by Rahul Dravid, this India U19 team managed to win the tournament without losing a single match.

It was dominant in all aspects, the margins of victory were huge, including a 100-run win over Australia and a 203-run win over Pakistan in the semi-final.

They met Australia in the final again, and despite Jonathan Merlo’s 76, the Indian bowlers bundled the Aussies out for 216.

In the end, it was an 89-run stand between Manjot Kalra (101 not out) and Harvik Desai (47 not out) that led the Indians to an eight-wicket win.

2020 U19 World Cup

So close, yet so far. That was the story of the final of this edition contested between India and Bangladesh.

Once again, India, led by Priyam Garg, reached the final without losing a single game in the group stage. They got the better of Australia and Pakistan in quarters and semis respectively, and faced Bangladesh in the final.

A knock of 88 from Yashasvi Jaiswal took India to only 177. In reply, the Indian bowlers, especially Ravi Bishnoi showcased grit, with four wickets to his name. Parvez Hossain’s 47 was the only positive in the Bangladesh top-order, and much of the middle-order also disappointed. But the skipper Akbar Ali (43*) stepped up with a courageous display to hand the Tigers a nervy three-wicket win to clinch their maiden ICC trophy. From a tricky position at 143/7, when all hopes seemed lost, the skipper led from the front to hand his country glory that will be remembered forever.