With the Under-19 World Cup happening now, I often go back to 1998 in South Africa, when I captained India’s U-19 team. One match that stands out is our last Super League game against Pakistan in Durban. It was a crucial game, and the pressure was very high.
At that time, players like Reetinder Sodhi, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif and Amit Bhandari were in the side. We had a lot of respect for each other, and leading that group was never a big pressure. I had a lot of fun playing with them and really enjoyed captaining them.
The last Super League game against Pakistan in Durban was crucial for us. To qualify, we had to reach the target – 191 – in a certain number of overs. It wasn’t just about winning; it was about improving our net run rate. We had lost to Australia earlier, so everything came down to this one match and a strict equation.
Because of that situation, we changed the batting order. Shukla and Sehwag went higher up, and I batted down the order. But two or three wickets fell early, and the target suddenly looked very stiff. Around the 22nd or 25th over, we had to be close to 180 while chasing 191. I don’t remember the exact number now, but I clearly remember how demanding that match situation was.
In a normal one-day game, I would look to go run-a-ball and build an innings. But in this situation, we had to reach a particular score in fewer overs. That’s why my intent was very positive from the start. Pakistan made it tough. Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik were bowling very well, and, as a unit, they were very disciplined. There were no easy overs to catch up later.
On top of that, it was an India-Pakistan match. There is always additional pressure to beat them. But we had been practising for many years and had been in similar situations before, so the focus was on tackling the equation calmly. When I went in, my thinking was simple: keep the scoreboard moving and stay on track with what we needed by those overs. In this game, every over mattered more than usual.
We had lost three wickets, and I felt that innings of mine came at the right time, and we went on to win the match as well. Handling that situation didn’t feel like a big burden because of the trust within the team. Everyone understood what was required and backed each other.