WC win is very emotional: Chand
First Published : 26 Aug 2012, 14:25
Last Modified : 26 Aug 2012, 14:25
Townsville, Aug 26: Unmukt Chand lived up to his reputation of being a big match player as he led India to victory in the ICC Under-19 World Cup with an unbeaten century. Chasing a competitive total, the Indian captain remained unfazed and played a determined knock to bring the coveted trophy home for the third time.
Hitting the ball over the ropes with ease, the opener awed the spectators with his brilliant strokeplay. His 130-ball 111-run knock, which came at a critical time, was studded with seven boundaries and six sixes.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, the Man-of-the-Match lauded his teammates and thanked the all the coaches and support staff that guided them in their journey leading up to this tournament.
Excerpts from his brief interview:
On how it felt out there
I don’t know what is happening right now. We have won the World Cup; it feels really good and I was due [for a big knock] for a long time now, and I am really lucky and thankful to God that I could perform today and take my team through. I am really happy.
On beating Australia again over the last few months
The last time also I scored a hundred in the final [against Australia, earlier in the year]. They had bad luck; they played well today and put up a good score, but we were able to reach the target.
On Townsville, where he has scored two centuries
Thank you! Townsville has been amazing for us. We have had a wonderful time in Townsville.
On captaining the Indian team
It has been really good. The journey has been really good. We started [working] two years back. We were 15 people from different states [back then], and now we are together as a team. A long time has been spent together. We have had lots of camps, boot camps and many things. It has been a great journey. It started last year in Vizag. We have played four tournaments so far and we have won all of them. The boys have been really good and they have always helped me and been obedient. So, I have had no problems.
On the journey and the people involved
I would like to thank a lot of people right now; our support staff, [coach] Bharat [Arun], Srini sir, Sood sir, Vinod Sir and everyone else. They have been our motivators and they are the ones who won the Cup, and also my team for being good sports.
We have had a good time together. It is a very emotional moment [as] it is the last match that we have played together. I would also like to thank the NCA support staff for working with us for the last two years. It has been really amazing being with them. Thanks to all the net bowlers who have bowled to us and all the people back home in India who prayed for us [as] it wouldn’t be possible without their prayers and also the crowd. The crowd has been amazing and it wouldn’t have been possible without the crowd [since] they have supported us. Thank you for being there for us.
