Townsville, Aug 23: Unmukt Chand was visibly happy as India beat New Zealand to make it into the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup final. He especially appreciated the contributions of Harmeet Singh and Baba Aparajith as India defended a modest total of 209. The Indian spin duo earned the respect of the opposition as well for their bowling.
India captain Chand and NZ skipper Will Young lauded each other’s efforts in semi-final at the Tony Ireland stadium today while speaking at the post-match presentation.
Excerpts:
Unmukt Chand:
On how it feels to be in the U19 CWC final
It feels great. This is a dream that is going to come true for us. I feel really happy to be here. It’s been great teamwork.
On New Zealand
It was a cliffhanger of a match and they played really well. With 28 required off two overs, they were always on the money and we were trying to pull it off till the last ball. I wish them luck for the future. They have put up a great show.
On the good bowling display by spinners Harmeet Singh and Baba Aparajith
The spinners have been bowling well. Harmeet bowled extremely well with Aparajith also contributing. They are the most important players of the team and they bowled really well.
On the final against Australia
It feels great to play against Australia on Australian soil, and feels good to be playing in the finals against Australia.
Will Young:
On whether he regretted asking India to bat first
I thought we did enough with the ball. 210 [-run target] on another day, I think we would have taken it.
On their excellent fielding and whether it looked like a tall order when India were 132 for one
Yes, I suppose. But our team showed great fighting character right through. And I knew our fielding was up to scratch too and our bowlers bowled in the right area.
On the pitch
It was a consistent track. It took a little bit of turn, but it was a great pitch all over.
On Cam Fletcher’s innings
Fletcher played really well, [but] we lost a few too many wickets up front and in the end kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
On Harmeet Singh and Aparajith’s bowling that put the brakes on NZ’s scoring
They did [well], they bowled really well. Full credit to the Indian team; they played well today.
