Watch: Virat Kohli’s uplifting message for India U-19 boys ahead of the final

India U-19 boys will take on Australia U-19 in the final on Saturday.

India U-19 team have outclassed their opponents in each encounter during the World Cup (Pic Source: ICC Media)

India Under-19 boys are on the cusp of creating a history as they are all set to lock horns against Australia in the all-important final of ICC U-19 World Cup at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Saturday (February 3).

The Prithvi Shaw led India U-19 have literally steamrolled all their opponents in the ongoing Youth World Cup in New Zealand. The Boys in Blue have registered mammoth victories in all 3 of their group matches against Australia, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe respectively. Moreover, they have thrashed Bangladesh U-19 in the quarter-final clash by 131 runs before annihilating arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final by 203 runs.

Taking into the account the performance of India U-19 boys, senior India team skipper Virat Kohli has backed the Rahul Dravid-coached side to bring the cup home for a record fourth time.

In a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on their official Twitter page, Kohli can be seen lauding Prithvi Shaw’s troops for their utter supremacy throughout the campaign thus far.

"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," quoted Kohli.

"I just hope they do the same in the finals as well. I know it's not going to be that easy, winning a championship is never easy but we can wish them for sure. The entire Indian team is watching them and on behalf of the entire squad here, we wish them and hope they can bring the Cup back to India," he further added.

Kohli, who recorded his 33rd ODI hundred in the first one-day internationals against South Africa in Durban on Thursday, also extended his best wishes for the team.

"You'll see many people making a strong statement for themselves much earlier than we all did. They've done amazingly well and the semi-final (against Pakistan) was an amazing game. Playing such a high-pressure game (against Pakistan), they really stood up and that's what you want to see," said Virat.

“You want to see people standing up when its needed the most. I want to wish them all the very best for the final. We'll all be following very keenly and well 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," he concluded.

Watch the video below:

India U-19 Squad:

Prithvi Shaw(c), Shubman Gill, Manjot Kalra, Himanshu Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Harvik Desai, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ishan Porel, Anukul Sudhakar Roy, Shiva Singh, Aryan Juyal, Arshdeep Singh, Pankaj Yadav

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 02 Feb, 2018

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