ICC Under-19 World Cup, Aug 2012

[psrb4u]

We are 3rd time World Champions!!! Hurray!!!

[psrb4u]

We are 3rd time World Champions!!! Hurray!!!

[rkt.india]

Pre-planning key to India's outstanding triumph

India are the Under 19 World Champions for the 3rd time and it was largely thanks to an outstanding knock by their skipper, Unmukt Chand and a steely cameo from middle order batter, Smit Patel. But a large part of the credit must go to the support staff and the amount of planning that went into the ensuring India have a good outing Down Under during the World Cup. At a time when one would not generally associate India with planning in advance for a tour or tournament abroad, the board and the coaching staff have bucked the trend by giving the players a feel of the conditions and players they would be pitted against. Months ago, the Indian U19 team set out with a goal in mind - ensure the U19 team goes into the World Cup fully equipped. And for this reason, the team was sent to the Quadrangular tournament, featuring hosts Australia, England and New Zealand. The 'getting used to the conditions' was done then and that reflected in the World Cup as Chand's team was suitably prepared to tackle the fast and bouncy pitches on offer. Speaking from the NCA before his team left for Australia, Chand reflected on how important the practice matches and the quadrangular tournament was for the team. "It took some time for us to adjust in the quadrangular series (also in Australia). This time we want to grab the momentum right from the very beginning. That's where practice matches help. It (the practice) was really good. We have played in Australia and so we knew the things we had to work on. We were specific on the things we had to work on. We tried to plug the gaps and strengthen our basics." Getting the youngsters prepared for the premier tournament in Australia wasn't restricted to just sending them to Australia for the tournament and giving them a few practice matches ahead of the WC. The team had extensive training sessions at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, where coach Bharat Arun and team did their best to give the lads a feel of Australia at home. When the team at cricbuzz caught up with the coach and the captain of the Under19 team before their quadrangular tournament, it was clear to see where the focus was. Batsmen were peppered with short-pitched deliveries, bowlers were given green tracks and players were put to the grind on the tracks to ensure they coped well with the bigger sized grounds in Australia. Chand only confirmed the same when he spoke to us later. "It will take us time to adapt, but we have got wickets at the NCA (in Bangalore) which are grassy and have good bounce. We have been practicing on these wickets. We are also training with plastic balls and trying to play more on the backfoot, especially the cut, hook and pull shots," he said We have also been working hard on running between the wickets. For example, in the practice matches, when the ball is hit in the outfield, we try to convert the ones into twos. It's all about pushing yourself," Chand added. Such fore-thinking can hardly be associated with Indian cricket and to find it coming from a team as young as this would be heart-warming for fans and even the board. The senior team's losses at England and Australia were largely attributed to the team's lack of preparation and planning ahead of the series. And while many would have feared and even expected a similar thrashing for the U19 team, the team and the staff itself left no stone unturned in making sure there will be no such events. The team was not only given everything to feel comfortable at Australia but were also made to undergo exhaustive sessions to cope mentally with the pressure. Practice included giving players different scenarios and involving them in simulated sessions. Arun had said how much focus was being given to working on the mental aspect and how they go about maximising every player's potential. "It is a part of the game and we work on the mental aspect of the players and they are well equipped (to handle pressure on and off the field). The bottom line is to concentrate on the process which decides on how you fare. The process is determined by the players and we teach them to stay focused on that. So, these things can be handled (by them)," the former TN all-rounder said. "Our job is to empower them with the right knowledge and take them to a level where ultimately the role of a coach should become redundant. We cover every aspect of the game - physical, technical and tactical and also improve their mental toughness. They are given match simulations to purely work on the tactical side of their game. There are experts in every field who provide the right inputs to these players. So, naturally, anybody who's talented at that age and gets the right inputs has the better chance of succeeding," the coach summed up. The coach's and the captain's comments clearly show how the team has approached a tournament as important as the World Cup and how months of hard work and planning has finally paid off. It is apparent from the tournament that the future of Indian cricket is in good hands, but for even the most talented team to succeed, fore-thinking and planning is as important as implementing plans and performing to expectations. Let's hope this display and the work that went being achieving this sets a precursor to things that follow in Indian cricket.

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/52295/pre-planning-key-to-indias-outstanding-triumph/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=news&utm_campaign=gadget

[CoverDrive]

here is hoping we plan well for the 2015 WC also

[Magneto]

Well done to BCCI :clap: :clap:

[Ultimate_Game]

Hope BCCI treats the A team, away tours and WC 2015 the same way

[Cricket Tragic]

Hope BCCI treats the A team' date=' away tours and WC 2015 the same way [/quote'] We've got a tour of Aus just before the next WC. Of course, it doesn't guarantee anything - as we saw in 1992.

[Old guy]

We've got a tour of Aus just before the next WC. Of course, it doesn't guarantee anything - as we saw in 1992.

it will help immensely imo and tbh bcci is always serious abt world cup its test matches which they dont care about

[Magneto]

We've got a tour of Aus just before the next WC. Of course, it doesn't guarantee anything - as we saw in 1992.

But we didn't do that badly. We would've beaten Australia had More not tried to do a Misbah. And had Manjrekar taken that crucial catch against NZ, we would have been through probably.