On This Day in 2008: India’s U-19 World Cup triumph was led by Virat Kohli

16 years have passed since a teenage Virat Kohli guided India to victory in the ICC U-19 World Cup on March 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the tournament final, his team defeated South Africa by a score of 12 runs, and the then-young cricket star showed excellent leadership qualities. The Indian team, who won their second tournament title and had a flawless winning record, was bursting with aggressiveness.

As the competition came to an end, Kohli scored the second-most runs. He then went on to make further history with his U-19 colleagues, Manish Pandey and Ravindra Jadeja, on the senior cricket squad.

Rainfall at the 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup final resulted in an unheard-of delay in play while players awaited field time. At the Kinara Academy Oval, South Africa had won the toss and chosen to bowl first during the match. Following a rain-induced postponement, India’s opening pair of players were wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami and captain Taruwar Kohli.

After being removed by South Africa’s Wayne Parnell, Taruwar left the field for only one run, raising serious concerns for the Indian youth. Goswami, his opening partner, was the next to be dismissed by Matthew Arnold after making six runs in twenty-six balls.

Tanmay Srivastava and Virat Kohli made an effort to guide India on the correct path. The collaboration did not last long, as Pieter Malan, who scored 19 runs off 34 balls, defeated Kohli. With 46 runs for the Indian team, Srivastava scored the most runs of any player.

At the same time, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, and Saurabh Tiwary were all out with scores of 20, 20, and 11, respectively. India managed to score 159 runs after a lackluster first half. With a combined six wickets, the South African trio of Wayne Parnell, Matthew Arnold, and Roy Adams limited the Indian team to a meager total.

Rain threatened to ruin the contest after the first half in Kuala Lumpur once again. A new target was created using the D/L approach as a result of additional delays. Now, 116 runs in 25 overs would be needed for the Proteas to win the match. India took early wickets in the second innings, bowling out three of their players in the first eight overs. India eventually stopped South Africa at 103 runs in 25 overs, winning both the match and the trophy.