Throwback To When Virat Kohli Led India To Their 2nd Under-19 Title Win

India won the U-19 World Cup 2008 with Kohli at the helm [screengrab]India won the U-19 World Cup 2008 with Kohli at the helm [screengrab]

One of the earliest signs of Virat Kohli's leadership prowess came in youth cricket when the rising young Delhiite, who later went on to become a bona fide legend of the game, guided India's U-19 side to victory at the U-19 World Cup in 2008. 

Under Kohli's captaincy, India defeated South Africa in a rain-marred final played in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia today (March 2), 16 years ago, marking it as the first popular glimpse of what is to come with the ace batter and mighty successful leader.The win in the final did not come easy to Kohli's men. After enjoying an unbeaten run into the summit clash against the Proteas, the Indian team endured their first real hiccup when they were dismissed in the first half for just 159 in gloomy weather, which spiced up the pitch and offered seamers great movement. 


When India Won U-19 World Cup Under Virat Kohli 

However, bowlers led India's fightback when the match was reduced to a 25-over tussle on DLS count with Proteas requiring 116 runs to clinch victory. Young left-arm spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, (2/25), pacer Siddharth Kaul (2/26) and Ajitesh Argal (2/7) took six wickets between them as India U-19 restricted the South Africans to just 103/8 to win by the game by 12 runs.

It was the culmination of a pathbreaking tournament for Kohli, who was given the captaincy mantle and the responsibility to be the team's guiding light in the middle order. Of all the talents on display in that U-19 World Cup, he appeared the most special one. 

Kohli made 235 runs in his six innings of the competition at an average surpassing 45 and a strike-rate of 95, including a century. On the back of his fantastic run, he was fast-tracked to the senior Indian team and made his international debut during the ODI series against Sri Lanka later that year.