Mount Maunganui,
\nIndia U-19 coach Rahul Dravid is confident that it won\u2019t just be \u201cone memory\u201d that would define this talented bunch of cricketers as a bigger and more challenging journey awaits them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a memory they\u2019ll cherish for a long time and hopefully it\u2019s not a memory that defines them and they will have a lot more bigger and better memories as they go ahead in their careers,\u201d coach Dravid said after India\u2019s fourth ICC U-19 World Cup title.<\/p>\n
Dravid spoke about the effort that the entire batch put on for the last 14 months, which bore fruit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am really proud of the boys, proud of the effort that they have put in and proud of the support staff as well. I think the effort we have put in over the last 14 months has been sensational. They really deserved this, couldn\u2019t be really happier and proud for this bunch of boys,\u201d the legendary batsman said.<\/p>\n
He was always aware that since this was an U-19 team, the spotlight would always be on him but as usual he was magnanimous in praising the entire support staff comprising of fielding coach Abhay Sharma, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey to name a few.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoaching this team, I tend to get a lot of attention, but it is really about the quality of support staff that we have had; there have been seven or eight of us who have been together for the last 14 months. The effort they put in was incredible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am proud to be a part of their (support staff) team and see it as that. We try and do what\u2019s best for the kids and hopefully they can put in the performances on the field and they have certainly done that in this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
On cloud nine after lifting the trophy, India skipper Prithvi Shaw also credited the team, support staff and singled out Dravid for special mention.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t express what I\u2019m feeling right now, really proud. All credit to our support staff for really supporting us for the last two years. Rahul sir himself is a legend, \u2018The Wall\u2019, as we all know him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFull credit to our coaching staff. When you have two guys (Dravid and Paras Mhambrey), who have played international cricket, it gives you great insights,\u201d Shaw said about their coach.<\/p>\n
He was all praise for centurion Manjot Kalra.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a crucial hundred from Manjot. (Shubman) Gill was batting so well before he got out. Both our pacers–Kamlesh (Nagarkoti) and Shivam Mavi–have been executing things so well throughout the tournament. It\u2019s been wonderful playing matches here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite losing the final, Australian skipper Jason Sangha said he was proud of his team for the way they performed throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know what to say at the moment. Proud of the guys to get this far in the tournament. Best thing about today was guys tried to grind it. As a captain, you can\u2019t complain when everyone\u2019s giving 110 per cent,\u201d Sangha said.<\/p>\n
Sangha, however, admitted that they were completely outplayed by India in the final.<\/p>\n
\u201cFull credit to India. They played very well. Best of luck for the guys for the IPL. Good for their supporters who came out today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shubman Gill, who was adjudged the Man of the Tournament for his 372 runs, said: \u201cI am really proud of my team. We were fortunate enough to have Rahul sir as our coach. He was just telling me to express my game and keep it on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad a good time here. It\u2019s been very exciting for me. Hope to do well in the IPL also.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kalra was awarded the Man of the Match after he blasted an unbeaten 101 off 102 balls to steer India to an eight-wicket win.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cGreat feeling. Enjoyed a lot. Conditions were very good. It was a flat wicket to bat on. In the team, it\u2019s been a great environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma, who took six wickets in the series, said: \u201cObviously, we have dreamt of this from last year. We had a few plans and we stuck to them. It\u2019s always grateful to be part of this team. I can\u2019t explain the feeling.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll celebrate this night–best night of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
His teammate Riyan Parag described it as an amazing feeling to come up trumps in a tough match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mount Maunganui, India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid is confident that it won\u2019t just be \u201cone memory\u201d that would define this talented bunch of cricketers as a bigger and more challenging journey awaits them. \u201cIt\u2019s a memory they\u2019ll cherish for a long time and hopefully it\u2019s not a memory that defines them and they will have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20788,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20786\/revisions\/20788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}