India produced a remarkable performance in a rain-interrupted final to beat South Africa by 12 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method for their second ICC Under-19 World Cup since 2000 at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday night.

The Indians owe much of their victory to the swashbuckling batting showmanship of Tanwar Srivastava whose 46 runs came at a time when they were certainly looking for some form of divine intervention to pull through as they crawled to 159 in 45 overs and a masterful bowling effort from openers Pradeep Sangwan (0-14) and Ajitesh Argal (2-7) and an equally strong support from spinners Ravindra Jadega (2-25), Siddharth Kaul (2-26) and Sayyed Abdullah Iqbal (0-12) that crippled the South Africans back.

India, put into bat by Proteas, was bowled out for 159 in 45.4 overs. South African bowlers bowled brilliantly to restrict India to a modest total. Their skipper and all-rounder Parnell was the pick of the bowlers. Tanmay Srivastava was the top scorer for India with 46 runs.

South Africa was struggling at 17 for 3 when the rain interrupted. After the rain break they were made to chase the revised target of 116 runs in 25 overs by Duckworth/Lewis method. Eventually they finished at 103 for 8 in 25 overs.

“It’s definitely a big victory for us and I dedicate this win to my late father who passed away in 2006. It has been a team effort and I compliment all my fellow team-mates especially the good job done by the bowlers,” said Indian captain Virat Kohli at the post match press conference.