Sayeed Muhammad

India have bagged the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in continuation of their winning streak as they beat Australia by eight wickets in the final held at the Bay Oval ground in New Zealand yesterday.This is the fourth time that India has lifted the trophy, erasing erased Australia’s record of three title triumphs, reports the Gulf News. After the win, Indian youngsters proudly announced that they will be the future stars of world cricket through a victory lap with the trophy in hand. Coached by the former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, the team won the title unbeaten throughout the tournament, scoring emphatic victories including arch rivals Pakistan in the semis. India restricted Australia to 216 in 47.2 overs with Ishan Porel, Shiva Singh and Kamlesh Nagarkoti bagging two wickets apiece and they, finally, reached home in their chase of just 38.5 overs with opener Manjot Kalra hitting an unbeaten ton.Kalra had scored 86 runs in the group match against Australia and 47 runs against Pakistan in the semifinal.India, edging Australia in the first match by 100 runs, trounced Papua New Guinea by ten wickets with 252 balls remaining. Against Zimbabwe, they registered another ten-wicket victory with 170 balls left and defeated Bangladesh by 131 runs.Their seminal win against Pakistan was of a massive 203-run margin, with latter being wrapped up for merely 69 runs. In the final, they won over Australia with 67 balls in hand.