U-19 World Cup: Chasing glory

PTI

Georgetown (Guyana), Jan 14

Record four-time champions India will be aiming to maintain their envious record and unearth a plethora of talent along the way when they begin their U-19 World Cup campaign against South Africa here tomorrow. Expectations will be high from the likes of Harnoor Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, skipper Yash Dhull and Ravi Kumar, who have already shown glimpses of their potential in tournaments leading into the World Cup.

India flew into the Caribbean straight after their Asia Cup triumph and tuned up for the event with wins over West Indies and Australia in the warm-up games.

India have been the most successful team in the tournament’s history and getting into the final of the last three editions is a testimony to their remarkable consistency.

“It doesn’t help that we have won four times. There is a new team, so you have to start afresh,” head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar said.

India are placed in Group B alongside South Africa, Ireland and Uganda. The top two teams qualify for the knockouts. —