Consistent and gallant throughout the duration of the Under-19 World Cup championship Pakistan thrilled the packed-to-capacity Bangabandhu stadium of Dhaka by lowering the colours of the West Indies by 25 runs. The match could have gone either way but it was Pakistan that turned out to be victorious in the end.
It were the days of protest strikes in Bangladesh when the junior cricketers were to show their potential in the tournament, staged not in one city but in the north and south of the country, apart from the capital, Dhaka, where the floodlights were an added attraction.
Due to the daily demonstrations motored transport dared not venture to come out on the roads. But cricket fever had touched its peak and the fans, otherwise football followers, had but to travel to the grounds in Bogra, Khulna, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Savar near Dhaka and the capital's imposing Bangabandhu amphitheater on three-wheeled man-driven rickshaws, cycles and some enthusiasts of the game on foot. Cricket had gained tremendous popularity in a land having won the International Council's reckoning but still to earn a single success in the shorter version of the game or the Test matches.
Whatever may have been the transport problems or the distance from the main cities to the far-off venues the stands were usually full to witness and enjoy the duels among the 16 contestants, 10 youngsters' squads from the full members of the ICC and six having the status of associate membership like Nepal, Canada, Uganda, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Ireland.
The future hopes of Pakistan had shown their strength in the warmup matches when one of the brawny members of the side, Fawad Alam, struck the balls to all parts of the ground in Khulna with a quicksilver 169 in 108 balls. The Pakistanis were in the right frame of mind when in their opening scheduled tie they thumped Papua New Guinea by eight wickets.
The minnows from the Pacific Island were under considerable stress facing the tight medium-paced deliveries of Riaz Afridi of the Frontier region, who had scalps of four for 15 runs, and the turning and flighted balls of Mansoor Ahmad, three wickets for only five runs.
The Australians, the defending champions, were the odds-on favourites from the start of the event but they had shocks from the opener when they crashed to Zimbabwe for their lowest-ever score of 73 in the competition. Ultimately, the Aussies were relegated to the Plate contest where they found a stiff challenger in Bangladesh. If the senior members of the hosts have yet to record a victory, their juniors had a success story written in the Plate when Australia were dumped. The fans in Dhaka danced in happiness. There were sonorous applause from the spectators for their splendid efforts in bat and ball.
Before the start of this nicely-organised contest there were feelings of anger against their Australian coach Richard McInnes but as soon as the Bangladeshi juniors exhibited their gutsy game the Dhaka fans' attitude changed to friendliness towards McInnes. At least the teenagers from the land of the world champions were whipped. The coach will help the Bangladesh make an advance, if not a leap-forward.
Pakistan in their second encounter had the better of the Caribbean teenagers by a whopping margin of 163 runs. At not stage the Pakistani formation was stretched. The variegated attack of Riaz Afridi (5 for 28) and off-spinner, Tariq Mhmood (3 for 18), harassed the West Indins so much that they were shot out for 88.
Pakistan, who had earlier made a handsome 251, thus comfortably entered the Super League, unlike their main pack in the South African World Cup.
Jahangir Mirza's 92 in this match was a delightful effort containing powerful boundaries and sixes.
Certainly the victory in the group tie had shown that the wind was blowing favourably for Pakistan and later they lifted the coveted trophy against the West Indian Juniors.
Pakistan edged out Zimbabwe by nine wickets, in a match in which captain Khalid Latif cut to smithereens the rival attack with laudable and enjoyable 84 not out.
Riaz Afridi, Tariq Mahmood and Mansoor Ahmad bowled admirably to send the Zimbabweans packing for 141. In qualifying for the semifinal, Pakistan settled the pretensions of New Zealand by eight wickets. New Zealand were all out for 181 against the accurate and venomous bowling of the Pakistani juniors. Skipper Khalid Latif again excelled with the bat by hitting up an unbeaten 90.
In Dhaka with the spectators backing up the Pakistani colts and much against the bookies' calculations, India were thrashed by the former by five wickets to make them return to their homes with saddened faces. More or less it was an easy triumph for Pakistan after the Indians could not go beyond 169 runs. All the bowlers, seamers and spinners, tied the Indian batsmen into knots.
Pakistan reached the target without much trouble. It was a team effort by the Pakistani boys.
West Indies had to measure strength with Pakistan in the final. In a thriller, Pakistan pipped the Caribbean bench by 25 runs.
Pakistan hit what appeared a moderate score of 230 with Asif Iqbal jr. wielding an imperious bat for an adventurous 54. The West Indies were chasing well the Pakistani total but their tail proved to be a bit long and they finished 25 runs behind.
The Pakistani colts ran away with the much sought-after Under-19 World Cup for the second time and proved, if any proof was needed, that they had some promising juniors to beef up the mainstream team later on. Among bowlers Riaz Afridi, Tariq Mahmood and Mansoor Ahmad stood out while among the batsmen captain Khalid Latif, Asif Iqbal and all-rounder Jahangir Mirza have to be watched by the PCB officialdom, if merit is to be given priority.
Pakistan deservingly bagged the accolade of the Dhaka contest. But in totality it was a team effort, though splendid individual performances cannot be ignored. Coach Aaqib Javed has also to be given full marks for devoted training and honing the skill of the selectees.
Cricket in Bangladesh certainly got a boost. Their third position in the championship showed that the game will go up the stairs there. The crowd zeal and enthusiasm will also help push cricket forward.