On This Day in 2008: Virat Kohli Led India to U-19 World Cup Glory

It has been 16 years since a young Virat Kohli led India to ICC U-19 World Cup glory in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on March 2. The then young cricket star displayed great leadership skills as his side beat South Africa in the final of the competition by 12 runs. The Indian squad was full of aggression as they maintained a perfect winning record while securing their nation’s second crown in the tournament.

Kohli finished the tournament as the second-highest run scorer. He next went on to achieve more history in the senior cricket team alongside his U-19 teammates, including the likes of Manish Pandey and Ravindra Jadeja.

In the final of the 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup, rainfall caused an unprecedented delay in the game as players waited for some field time. South Africa had won the toss at the Kinara Academy Oval and had elected to bowl first in the game. After a rain-enforced delay, the match began with Taruwar Kohli and wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami opening for India.

Things looked dire for the Indian youngsters as Taruwar departed for a single run after he was dismissed by South Africa’s Wayne Parnell. His opening partner Goswami was the next to fall at the hands of Matthew Arnold having scored six runs in 26 balls.

It was Virat Kohli and Tanmay Srivastava who tried to steer India in the right direction. The partnership did not last long as Kohli fell victim to Pieter Malan scoring 19 runs off 34 balls. Srivastava scored the most runs for the Indian side putting up 46 runs on the board for India.

Meanwhile, Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey and Ravindra Jadeja were also dismissed at scores of 20, 20 and 11, respectively. After an underwhelming half, India could muster 159 runs. The South African triumvirate of Wayne Parnell, Matthew Arnold and Roy Adams combined for six wickets to curb the Indian side at a humble scoreline.

After the first half, rain set once again in Kuala Lumpur to play spoilsport in the match. Further delays led to the creation of a new target using the D/L method. The Proteas now required 116 runs in 25 overs to win the game. The second innings began with India taking early scalps, dismissing three of their players within eight overs. India went on to win the match and the trophy after halting South Africa at 103 runs in 25 overs.