We played few rash shots and couldn't spend some time: Uday Saharan

Indian captain Uday Saharan said some of the batters played “rash shots” in the run-chase and that led to their downfall in the ICC Under-19 World Cup final against Australia on Sunday (February 11).

Chasing a target of 254 against Australia’s formidable pace attack, India kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bundled out for 174. Adarsh Singh (47) and Murugan Abhishek (42) were the only ones to put up some fight.

“It was fine. We played a few rash shots and couldn't spend some time on the surface. We were prepared for it but we couldn't execute well. That is where we went wrong,” said Saharan after India lost the game by 79 runs.

This was India’s first defeat in the tournament and Saharan said he is proud of how his team played throughout the event. "It was great, I am very proud of the boys, they played very well. The entire team, from the start to the end showed fighting spirit. They played very well and I am proud of them.”

Saharan himself ended the World Cup as the leading run-getter, scoring 397 runs in seven innings at an average of 56.71, studded with one century and three fifties.

"There have been a lot of learnings, right from the start to now. I have learnt a lot from the staff and even during the match, have learnt so much. I just want to take all the learnings from this tournament and move forward in my career."