The young Indian team led by Uday Saharan suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2024 final against Australia on Sunday but there was a moment which caught the attention of all cricket fans involving Naman Tiwari.
The left-arm pacer was fighting a lost cause towards the final few overs of India's run chase but he refused to give up and played a valiant knock till the very end.
Tiwari tries to boost teammate's morale
Tiwari was batting along with fellow bowler Murugan Abhishek with India 8 wickets down for 151 in the 38th over when the stump mic caught him giving words of wisdom to the batter.
Tiwari told Murugan to focus on his batting and not give up his wicket cheaply despite the team needing 103 runs from 75 balls with just two wickets in hand at that stage.
"Muru yaad rakha , haarenge par sekhh ke jayenge!! (Remember Muru, we might lose but we'll learn from it)" Tiwari was heading telling Abhishek on the stump mic between deliveries.
Valiant India go down fighting
And the duo managed to cut down on the losing margin significantly as they put on 46 runs for the 9th wicket, which turned out to be India's biggest partnership during their record chase of 254.
Murugan Abhishek (42) ended up as India's second highest scorer after Adarsh Singh (47) while Tiwari, not known for his batting abilities, was one of the four batters who managed to score in double digits.
Their valiant partnership ended in the 41st over with Abhishek's wicket and India's innings folded three overs later on 174 with Tiwari remaining not out on 14.
Australia clinched their fourth U19 World Cup trophy and their 14th ICC title overall in cricket.
