As he took the wicket of Brad Barnes on the final ball of the day, giving India the Under-19 World Cup, Siddharth Kaul would have done his parents proud. The straight, on-the-stumps ball that rocked the South African batsman would have delighted his pace bowling coach father Tej Kaul, while the subsequent celebration — the high jump and the skid on the turf with the face down — would have excited his former gymnastics national champion mother .

“My parents will be so happy and I am sure there will be tears in their eyes after watching me bowl India to this famous victory,” says Siddharth. The youngster himself chokes on emotions while shaking hands with hundreds of fans who braved the pouring rain to first run onto the field after India’s 12-run win and later crowded around the boys in blue in a chaotic celebration. They carried the tournament’s highest run-getter Tanmay Srivastava on their shoulders off the field and others mobbed skipper Virat Kohli. Tanmay lost his cap in the melee and Kohli his glasses. But with the Cup in their hands, such minor mishaps were obviously being overlooked.

Teenagers, who were not even born when Mohinder Amarnath was similarly mobbed at Lord’s after the 1983 World Cup final, were re-living those famous cricketing scenes at the Kinrara Oval here today. And like on that day, today too India had defended a small total, kept their cool under pressure and it was yet again the bowlers who were the day’s heroes.

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