India under-19 skipper Yash Dhull said the self-belief of the players helped the team stay unbeaten through the tournament and clinch the title.
“After a lot of struggles, we stayed strong and the boys remained confident. We achieved what we did because we were strong, and we believed in ourselves,” Dhull said after winning the title.
The match was set up by medium-pacers Raj Bawa (5/31) and Ravi Kumar (4/34) before the former made a useful contribution of 35 runs with the bat as well.
“Raj Bawa has an important role as an all-rounder. He takes the batter by surprise with his bouncers. He is very strong mentally and knows what to do in crunch situations,” said the skipper.
“The medium-pacers have been doing well since the Asia Cup, giving us good starts with the ball, and that has made it easier for the spinners when they bowl to the middle-order. Ravi and Bawa gave us a good start today, and (Rajvardhan) Hangargekar has been doing well all along,” he added.
Sudden jolt
Speaking about the chase, the 19-year-old from Delhi said the team was confident it could chase down the target despite two quick wickets during a crucial phase of the match when Shaik Rasheed and Dhull were dismissed in quick succession.
“We have a lot of all-rounders, so we were confident that everything was in control. While batting, the pitch had improved so we knew that if we batted deep, we would get there. We just needed to bat till the end,” Dhull explained.
