Mumbai Cricket Association to Felicitate U19 World Cup Heroes Mhatre and Kundu

Mhatre's boys made sure that India's dominance in age-group cricket continued without any interruptions as riding on a dominant 175 in 80 balls by Vaibhav Suryavanshi, India secured a 100-run win over England in the final at Harare, despite a valiant century by Caleb Falconer. Both Mumbai boys, Mhatre and Abhigyan Kundu, had a massive role to play in the final with their knocks and displayed their skillset to indicate a bright batting future for India.

Speaking to ANI, Naik said that while both will be felicitated by the board, they will also request the state government to have them felicitated by the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, just like women's cricketers were after their maiden ICC Women's World Cup win last year.

"It is a matter of happiness that India won the U19 World Cup, with Ayush Mhatre, our Mumbai player, and Abhigyan Kundu as captain and vice-captain. Given the dominance they have shown, we will felicitate them 100 per cent. We have also requested the Maharashtra government to felicitate them like the Women's World Cup winning team was felicitated by Fadnavis ji. When they come to Mumbai, the MCA will felicitate them as per our protocols," he said.

Naik also pointed out that throughout his history, MCA's Improvement Committee and the association as a whole has backed young cricketers, including skipper Mhatre and Kundu.

Mhatre has performed consistently, started with club cricket, did well, he did well in BCCI/state-level matches and then first-class cricket. After completing all the steps, he has brought the trophy home. It will impact the younger generation and the players playing with him," he added.

Here is how both players performed in the tournament:

-Abhigyan Kundu: 239 runs in five innings at an average of 59.75 and a strike rate of 87.54, with two fifties (10th highest run-getter).

-Ayush Mhatre: 214 runs in seven matches at an average of 30.57 and a strike rate of 113.22, with three fifties and seven wickets at an average of 12.42. A fine all-round performances including a three-fer against Pakistan too, a total of two three wicket hauls and a wicket in the final.

After India opted to bat first, a stunner, record-shattering Vaibhav Suryavanshi masterclass (175 in 80 balls, with 15 fours and 15 sixes), a half-century from skipper Ayush Mhatre (53 in 51 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and a knock from Abhigyan Kundu (40 in 31 balls, with six fours and a six) guided India to a massive 411/9.

England lost an early wicket but went from 142/2 courtesy a fine knock from Ben Dawkins (66 in 56 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and a partnership with skipper Thomas Rew (31 in 18 balls, with four boundaries and a six), but collapsed to 177/7 as they progressed. Caleb Falconer (115 in 67 balls, with nine fours and seven sixes) put on a spectacular show of power, but all in vain, as they are yet to win the title since the 1998 edition.

England was skittled out for 311 runs, with this 722 runs being the highest match aggregate in the U19 WC final.

- ANI